Nigerians will now be paying for using USSD transactions in their banking activities.

This was after the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) agreed to charge customers using unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) service and a flat fee of N6.98 for each transaction was arrived at.

This was confirmed in a joint statement released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The new charges will replace the current billing structure and this comes after the telecommunication companies in Nigeria announced their plan to suspend USSD services.

According to the Telcos, they are owed over N42 billion by financial service providers, the Federal Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami has intervened asking the telcos to halt their strike.

The statement released revealed that the Minister was the chair of a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss an amicable resolution in the interest of the general public.