The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.

The apex bank has announced that from Tuesday, customers will pay N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi and Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde.

“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction.

“This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion,” it read in part.

It added that “this approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.”