Indications emerged Tuesday that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and telecom operators may have formally commenced charge deductions on the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) directly from customers’ airtime instead of their bank accounts.

The Guardian had reported on April 16 about the possibility of telecom subscribers paying for the use of USSD with deductions from their airtime, which is the end-user billing system.

Indeed, banks have started the process after sending messages to their customers about the new process.

USSD is a communications protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to interact with a mobile network operator’s computers.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) announced this change in an e-mail message to customers, following a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The message read: “Each USSD session will cost ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, charged by your mobile network. You will be asked to approve the charge before it’s deducted from your airtime. If you prefer, you can use other banking channels like ATMs, mobile apps, or Internet banking.”