Telecommunication firms are currently owed over N200bn by banks for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services, a debt that has escalated by approximately 66.67% from the N120bn earlier in the year.
Despite ongoing discussions between banks and telcos, the slow progress has prompted the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria to emphasize that the debt will not be forgiven.
This revelation, disclosed during an industry interactive session with the Nigerian Communications Commission, underscores the negative impact on the financial technology economy.
The USSD debt issue, lingering since 2019, has led to disconnection notices and threats of legal action.
Additionally, telcos highlighted the burden of 52 different taxes and levies, hindering their growth and impacting the quality of service.
The new Executive Vice Chairman urged telcos to enhance service quality and innovation amid these challenges.
