TELECOMMUNICATION giant MTN has announced it will continue its partnership with fintech companies through their payment solutions platforms as the telco continues to meet with commercial banks over a a new Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) pricing structure agreement.
The initial meeting with the banks on the reduction of the charges which was slated for Tuesday had ended in a deadlock and is ongoing until a sustainable pricing structure is arranged.
In a statement released by the telco titled ‘Update on banking channel partners’ dispute and expansion of channel network,’’ MTN revealed that the move was to expand its channels to serve its subscribers.
Commercial banks had blocked MTN subscribers from accessing their mobile banking applications and USSD payment channels after the telco reduced the banks’ commission from an average of 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent per transaction.
MTN customers were reconnected to banking channels after the banks resorted to negotiations with the telco giant.
This was agreed on the basis that MTN would revert to its previous cost of sales structures with banking partners until a new long-term agreement could be reached on a sustainable pricing structure, going forward.
The telecom company remarked that it had been participating in a series of meetings with the banks since Tuesday, after the intervention of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Communication Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the telco, the reduction in the banks’ commission on USSD airtime was “international standard and best practice as the scale is built along distribution channels.”
“We will provide a further market update once these discussions have been concluded. We are confident that partners in the banking sector will work with us to ensure this process concludes as quickly as possible to the benefit of the entire industry,” MTN said.
It said it had partnered with new fintech to expand the range of channels available to customers, adding that the partnerships would remain in place.
“The new channel partners include Sparkle, Konga Pay, Barter By Flutter Wave, Jumia Pay, OPay, Kuda, Carbon, BillsnPay, MTN On-Demand, MTN Xtratime airtime loans (*606#), myMTN Web @ http://mymtn.com.ng and Momo agent *223#,” the statement said.
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.