Banks Disconnection: MTN Shuns Banks Explores Flutterwave, Opay, Others

With the disconnection of MTN customers by commercial banks, the Mobile Network Operator is exploring other electronic payment platforms for its customers to recharge their phones.

The alternative channels include payment solutions platforms such as Flutterwave, Jumia Pay, OPay, Kuda, Carbon and BillsnPay.

MTN in a statement on Saturday by its Senior Manager, External Relations, Funso Aina, also said customers could recharge airtime by dialing *904# and *606#.

Millions of telecommunications subscribers were stranded on Friday as commercial banks disconnected MTN customers from banking channels including the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data and banking apps.

MTN has 77.35 million subscribers, according to latest industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The telco had reduced the banks’ commission from an average of 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent which predicated the actions of the banks.

The banks had written MTN to revert to the old commission, otherwise, they would block MTN airtime in all their channels.

The banks, except Zenith Bank which was connected directly to MTN, subsequently blocked MTN from their banking channels, leaving many MTN subscribers frustrated as they were unable to recharge airtime via USSD amid the Easter celebrations.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, had said the matter would be resolved. “We have reached an advance stage of resolving the issues, for the services to be restored to our citizens,” he had said.

But in the statement on Saturday, MTN said, “It will interest you to note that for the benefit of our customers who have been greatly inconvenienced by the service suspension, we now have alternative channels of accessing MTN services electronically.