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Clarification On Media Reports Regarding Implementation Of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) End User Billing Model By MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

Clarification On Media Reports Regarding Implementation Of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) End User Billing Model By MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

We at MTN approach every day with one primary objective – finding ways to make
our customers lives a little easier; which is why we will focus on what really
matters, our customers.

They are the reason we made transparency and simplicity central to the recent
drawn-out engagements with the banks over USSD access charges and how they
should be applied.

Following consultation with industry stakeholders, customer feedback and media
reports related to the message notifying our customers of upcoming changes in
our charging model for access to banking services via the USSD channel, we
wish to confirm that the new charging model has not gone into effect.

The situation has made it necessary to restate that MTN Nigeria, in line with our
company policy will always be transparent in our dealings with customers, the
industry and relevant regulatory bodies. The SMS notification to our customers is
reflective of this commitment and was sent after formal requests received from
individual banks as well as the Body of Bank CEOs to implement end-user billing –
a billing methodology where the customer is directly charged USSD access fees
irrespective of the service charges that the bank may subsequently apply to their
bank account.

It should be noted that the banks had up-till now been on a corporate billing plan –
where a corporate client, the provider of the service that is accessed through the
USSD channel (in this case the bank), pays the access fees at a wholesale price.

We believe the costs associated with USSD banking services should be charged
to the consumer only once – as with other USSD based services we provide,
which we believe has been adequately provisioned for within existing Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines.

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It is in fact in line with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy of the Federal
Government that we resisted the calls for end-user billing. We relented only after
exhausting avenues of engagement with the banks in pursuit of a model that
enabled a single charge. We believe separate charges by the banks and telecoms
companies are an unnecessary burden on the consumer especially the target
group that the National Financial Inclusion Strategy is aimed at.

With this in mind, it is imperative for all parties to approach the table and engage
constructively towards a solution, putting the consumer at the fore of all
decisions.

The banks have been and still are our esteemed customers and valued partners.
We look forward to collaborating with them and other stakeholders and will be
glad to implement the decisions approved

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