Nigeria’s largest telecommunications company has been cut off from payment platforms by banks, Bloomberg reported.
Nigerian banking and communication regulators interfered in a dispute that resulted in most Nigerian lenders removing MTN Nigeria from their banking sites, rendering millions of customers unable to purchase credit for their phones.
Following intervention from the central bank and the minister of communication and digital economy, MTN Nigeria decided to restore the commission it owes lenders for offering payment channels to subscribers, according to Funso Aina, a spokesperson for the telecommunications company.
In a letter to the chairman of a group of bank chief executives shared by Aina, MTN Nigeria Managing Director Karl Toriola said, “We hereby accept that the banks return to the status quo of 4.5 percent commission.” According to the letter, the banks and the company will meet again on April 6 to settle any disagreements.
Except for Zenith Bank, all lenders in Africa’s most populous nation removed MTN Nigeria from their platforms after MTN cut its commission by nearly half to 2.5 percent.
Airtime sales were halted around the board, including by banking applications, USSD codes, and even debit cards. With approximately 79 million subscribers, MTN is the largest telecom services provider in the West African country.
Because of the convenience they offer, many Nigerians choose to purchase call credits on their phones via banking channels.
However, the intervention has had no impact on other telecommunications companies.
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