Evaluation of USSD-Based Banking Service Reliability on Nigerian Mobile Networks

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data technology provides a critical low-bandwidth channel for financial services delivery to mobile users in Nigeria, particularly those without smartphones or reliable internet access. Given its role in supporting financial inclusion, the reliability of USSD-based banking services on national mobile networks demands rigorous evaluation. This study evaluates the reliability of USSD-based banking services provided by six major Nigerian commercial banks across the MTN, Airtel, and Glo networks in Lagos State, South West Nigeria. A controlled testing methodology was employed, conducting 1,200 USSD banking sessions across twelve weeks, distributed evenly across operators, banks, and times of day. Metrics assessed included session establishment success rate, transaction completion rate, average session establishment time, and timeout frequency. Results indicate that overall USSD session success rates averaged 81.4%, with MTN recording the highest success rate of 87.2% and Glo the lowest at 73.6%. Transaction timeout failures were most frequent during peak periods between 12 PM and 2 PM, with timeout rates reaching 22% on the Glo network. Banks with direct interconnect agreements with multiple operators demonstrated significantly higher completion rates than those relying on third-party aggregators. The study recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria and NCC jointly enforce minimum USSD reliability standards, mandate direct operator interconnects for Tier 1 bank USSD services, and expand USSD session timeout windows. Keywords: USSD banking, service reliability, mobile network, financial inclusion, Nigeria.