Nigeria, June 18 -- From Wednesday, June 18, 2025, telecom users in Nigeria will start paying their mobile network providers directly for USSD services.

This change comes after a new billing system approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant bodies.

Under this new system, users will be charged N6.98 for every 120 seconds spent during a USSD session.

The money will be taken straight from their airtime balance.

However, the charges will only apply if the session is successful, and users will first receive a prompt to accept the fee before any deduction.

This shift follows years of disagreements between banks and telecom companies over unpaid USSD debts.

Be...