Five years after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shared a report on uniform shortcodes, stakeholders within the telecoms trade will now start implementation. Harmonised shortcodes permit clients of various cellular operators and banks to use the identical USSD codes to examine airtime steadiness, purchase airtime and even make financial institution transactions. The main argument for harmonisation is that it’s going to allow simple memorisation and a extra cohesive regulatory atmosphere.
Currently, there are greater than 4 main cellular community operators and about 21 industrial banks working in Nigeria. Most of those establishments have supplied shortcodes to their clients for important providers such as airtime and knowledge recharge, steadiness checking, borrowing, and making transfers. Some of those widespread codes embrace GTCO’s *737# and MTN’s *556#, with the previous gaining recognition by broadly marketed radio jingles and TV adverts. The industrial success of those adverts was how customized USSD codes grew to become commonplace in Nigeria, finally giving rise to providers like GTCO’s Squad which permit companies to have their very own customised codes for funds.
For such banks and companies, this implies all of the advertising and buyer consciousness will come to a halt, as they’ll now give attention to the joint publicity of the new harmonised codes. Yet, the upside is that every one clients won’t want to continuously Google their financial institution or cellular supplier’s codes. Through the harmonisation course of, the NCC seeks to replicate international greatest practices within the Nigerian telecommunications area. Harmonised shortcodes are commonplace globally, with Ghana doing the identical in 2014.
According to the Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the migration to a new set of codes will probably be concluded by May seventeenth, 2023, which can mark the top of the viability of outdated shortcodes. The proposed new shortcodes will then proceed as the one technique of sending the instructions on cellular gadgets. The proposed harmonised shortcodes embrace 300 for name centres; 303 for airtime borrowing providers; 310 for steadiness checking; 311 for credit score recharge; 312 for knowledge plan; and 2442 for porting providers.
An common Nigerian with one sim card and one checking account may have to memorise between 5 and ten quick codes to full frequent instructions. Considering that, and the fact that the majority Nigerians use a number of (MNOs) and function a number of accounts, one can solely think about the variety of shortcodes the typical Nigerian should preserve monitor of. This state of affairs is what the NCC desires to change.
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