GTBank Shifts N6.98 USSD Fee Deduction to Airtime Starting June 18
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has announced that it will begin deducting the N6.98 USSD banking transaction fee directly from customers’ airtime balances starting Wednesday, June 18, 2025. This marks a shift from the previous system where the charge was taken from users’ bank accounts.
In a message sent to customers, the bank confirmed: “Dear Customer, please be informed that effective 18 June 2025, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account.”
This move aligns with new regulations jointly enforced by 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 service charges.
Under the new End‑User Billing model introduced by the NCC, banks are now required to deduct fees from mobile airtime rather than their customers’ account balances. This system ensures telecom operators receive payment for their infrastructure usage, which had previously gone uncompensated due to delayed remittances from banks.
The change comes after prolonged disagreements that left telecom providers claiming they were owed over ₦250 billion by banks for USSD services rendered, even as banks continued to charge customers without remitting funds to the telecoms.
To implement the revised model, the NCC directed that banks must first clear their outstanding debts before switching over to the airtime billing approach. Going forward, users will receive a prompt at the beginning of each USSD transaction to confirm the charge. Airtime will only be deducted if the user agrees and has a sufficient balance.
With this policy now in effect, GTBank joins other financial institutions in complying with the directive designed to ensure fairness between banks and telecom providers while maintaining seamless access to mobile banking services for customers across Nigeria.