The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRAI) on Wednesday recommended the elimination of charges for USSD messages on mobile banking and payment services to enhance digital transactions.
USSD messages are displayed on the screen of mobile phones. But it is not saved like SMS. This technology is widely used to display balance detection on mobile phones.
Currently, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRI) has set the USSD session price at 50 paise. Each session can be completed in eight stages. The advice on eliminating fees has been recommended by the High Level Group on Promoting Digital Payments by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to promote the digitalisation of money transactions and improve funding.
The panel’s recommendations are supported by the Financial Services Department (DFS). Following DFS’s request to the Department of Telecommunications, the Commission said in a statement that the Commission was examining the issue from various angles and was considering protecting the interests of USSD users and enhancing digital funding.
“Accordingly, the Commission proposes to revise the framework for USSD-based mobile banking and payment services by prescribing ‘Nil’ fees only for the USSD session for mobile banking and payment service, while keeping other functions of the USSD unchanged,” TRAI said. The current charge for a USSD session for mobile banking provided by telecommunication service providers (TSPs) is several times higher than the average charge for a one minute outgoing voice call or an outgoing SMS.
