Nigeria: Unity Bank introduces local language USSD

Among Nigeria’s top ten banks, Unity Bank has introduced unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) in three of Nigeria’s popular local languages, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. USSD is a protocol used in mobile communications to communicate with mobile network operator computers. It enables easy communication without the use of the internet. It is widely used on feature phones for services such as prepaid callback, mobile-money, location-based content, and menu-based information services. Introduction of local language USSD is in line with the bank’s strategy for expansion to rural areas.