N120bn debt: Banks offer telcos repayment plan

<p>Telecommunication firms are considering a repayment plan proposed by Deposit Money Banks to end the N120bn debt on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data service, findings from The PUNCH has revealed.</p>, <p>A source said the Central Bank of Nigeria was intervening in the dispute, and planned a meeting with both parties.</p>, <p>According to a source in the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body for telcos, “Work is going on and we would soon have a meeting with the telcos. We are going to talk about what the banks have told us. Modalities for payments, the banks are ready to pay.</p>, <p>“The CBN has called all of us to try to resolve the matter. We are looking at a way of fulfilling the promise. Banks have made commitments to pay.”</p>, <p>The source noted that the debt had continued to increase in 2023, due to continued patronage of the USSD channel.</p>, <p>Telcos and banks had had been having disagreement on the debt since 2019, over the payment of USSD debt.</p>, <p>At the time, telcos insisted that banks were owing them N32bn for offering financial services with USSD.</p>, <p>Since then, an agreement over the repayment of the debt had remained elusive, with telcos threatening to stop banks from using USSD channels.</p>