Have you been trying to do a quick recharge top up and it isn’t going through, or you probably thought it was network problem and hoped for it to resolved? Sadly, MTN confirmed with effect from April 1, 2021, it was reviewing the channel structure and discounts.
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| Mtn bars bank ussd recharge |
So if you have been trying, kindly stop using bank ussd code to perform recharge or data purchase on your mtn sims, as Bank discontinues its ussd services with MTN Nigeria, meaning your transactions wouldn’t go through.
With this banks ban effect on all non-core banking services like the purchase of airtime, data, and among others, will no longer go through till further notice.
Also read: New ussd code assigned for mtn subscribers to recharge their lines despite the bank discontinuation
According to source, Nigerian banks cut off the largest telecom operator in Africa after the latter decided to cut back on the commissions it pays out to banks and fintechs on the sales of airtime and data.
In a letter addressed to partners, seen by Source, MTN said with effect from April 1, 2021, it was reviewing the channel structure and discounts. The changes, it said, were as a result of industry realities and would ensure commensurate recognition and reward for each partner’s performance.
Prior to this time, MTN was arguably the telco that gives commercial banks the lowest percentage from every recharge (3.5 percent). The review means that the banks and other partners will now get 2.5 percent.
Further recall that telcos had threatened to discontinue USSD transactions should banks fail to pay an alleged N42 billion debt accruing from unremitted profits from the channel. As a result of the threat, banks agreed to henceforth remit N6.98 per USSD transaction to telcos which averted the switching off of USSD.
Following the latest move made by MTN, it appears not to have gone down well with the banks which then decided to not accepting non-core banking USSD services from the network.
According to a source, all the commercial banks held a meeting in which they decided to take MTN off their banking channels. Zenith is said to be the only bank that refrained from restricting MTN USSD services.
The implication is that millions of customers on the MTN network are unable to buy recharge cards or internet data via the USSD channel.
On Friday, the telco sent a message to its over 77 million subscribers about the situation.
Here is the message.
“Dear Customer, our bank recharge channels are currently unavailable. Kindly recharge using physical cards. We apologise for the inconvenience. Thank you,” the MTN message read.
Here is a tweet from Pantami made on Friday in regards to the situation:
“On the fallout between @MTNNG and some banks on USSD services today, I engaged with both regulators, the Governor of CBN and EVC of NCC. We have reached an advanced stage of resolving the issues for the services to be restored to our citizens,”