Punch
Millions of telecommunications subscribers were stranded on Friday as commercial banks disconnected MTN customers from banking channels including the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data and banking apps.
MTN has 77.35 million subscribers, according to latest industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
MTN customers complained on Friday about being unable to recharge their MTN lines using USSD and other banking channels like the bank apps.
Customers were also unable to do banking transactions on MTN lines through USSD.
A source said this was not the doing of the telco but the banks who had refused to give any formal communication prior to the disconnection.
The source said, “Please note that MTN didn’t cut off customers and has no hand in this. This is strictly the banks acting on their own.
“We woke up this morning to see that MTN customers were cut off from USSD services overnight. This has come as a surprise as there was no formal communication from the banks to their customers prior to their taking this action.’’
The source disclosed that MTN had reduced the banks’ commission from an average of 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent which predicated the actions of the banks.
According to the source, the reduction is standard because the volumes compensate for the reduction, adding that the contract with convenience channel partners and aggregators through which they were indirectly connected to the banks allowed this.
The source said, “The banks wrote back to the aggregators to revert back to the old commission, otherwise, they would block MTN airtime in all their channels.
“The channels were blocked midnight leaving our customers stranded. Interesting that the banks’ managing directors met and quickly took a decision.
“Subscribers to telecommunications are being denied services by the banks even when they have money in their accounts.
“The government needs to step in and deal with this once and for all. Nigerian banks need to stop their tyrannical posture.”
While some telco sources claimed that the disconnection of MTN subscribers to fight the telco for insisting that the banks must pay the N42bn allegedly owed operators for past USSD services, banking sources said there was no such debt.
Body of Bank CEOs react
However, a source at the Body of Bank CEOs has reacted.
The source said, “Acting on directives from its South African parent company, MTN Nigeria has made an ill-conceived play at monopolising the Nigerian telecommunications industry.
“This ploy was made clear on March 30, 2021 when the service provider facilitated a meeting with aggregators and announced a 37.5 per cent reduction in its vending commission without prior discussions, notice or approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Acting unilaterally, without consultation or negotiation with any financial institution, MTN informed all aggregators that it will be reducing the agreed commission that it will be remitting for airtime sales on banking platforms from four per cent to 2.5 per cent.
