By Charles Pemu 
Guaranty Trust Bank has announced a change in billing for USSD transactions, with the ₦6.98 service charge now to be deducted from customers’ airtime balances instead of their bank accounts, effective Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
The shift follows a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at resolving long-standing disputes between telecom operators and banks over unpaid USSD fees—debts that reportedly reached ₦250 billion.
Under the new End User Billing model, users will receive a prompt to confirm charges before airtime is deducted. Banks can only implement the model after settling outstanding debts to telcos.