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Unstructured Supplementary Service Data or USSD in short is a service that allows mobile phone users to interact with a remote application from their device in real time. A predefined session is started once a user dials in to facilitate the transfer of information between your application and the user. It is a highly scalable service as it does not require an internet connection and is supported by both feature and smartphones
This is a three digit code for example *384# that is used solely by one user for their company or service
This is a code that is used by multiple companies or services. Each company is allocated a channel on our dedicated codes, for example *384*65#
Dumi Kaliati, a developer based in Malawi, saw an opportunity to turn people’s mobile phones into their own personal billboards and classifieds through Peza, a USSD and SMS based mobile application that acts as a mobile marketing platform for blue collar professionals
Read their storyGive access to structured information from your application with USSD menus. The interactive nature can layer leading questions to deliver the right information
USSD is a powerful tool for data collection because it is universally accessible on any mobile phone. The session-based nature of USSD services also make them better suited for structured surveys as compared to SMS
USSD is a powerful marketing tool for leading users to quickly register for your service. Enhance the customer on boarding experience by adding services such as SMS and Voice to your USSD application
Our USSD gateway is built to handle thousands of concurrent API requests at any one time
Choose between pre-paid and post paid billing options depending on your business needs.
We have made it easy for a developer to build and deploy a USSD application within minutes
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up Cost | Free |
Monthly Maintenance | KES 5,800 |
Network | Basic Plan KES 0 - 19,999 |
Plus Plan KES 20,000 - 99,999 |
Premium Plan KES 100,000 - 399,999 |
Max Plan 400,000+ |
---|---|---|---|---|
Safaricom | KES 1.5 | KES 1.5 | KES 1.25 | KES 1.25 |
Network | Telco Charge to the End User | Basic Plan KES 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan KES 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan KES 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan 1,000,000+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Safaricom | KES 1 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 |
Airtel | KES 3 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Test Bed | KES 17,400 |
Set Up Cost | KES 145,000 |
Pre-Paid Monthy Maintenance | KES 58,000 |
Post-Paid Monthy Maintenance | KES 58,000 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up Cost | KES 116,000 |
Monthly Maintenance | KES 46,400 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up | KES 46,400 |
Test Bed | KES 17,400 |
Deposit (One off) | KES 28,500 |
Monthly Maintenance | KES 40,600 |
Network | Basic Plan KES 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan KES 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan KES 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan KES 1,000,000+ |
---|---|---|---|---|
Safaricom | KES 1.5 | KES 1.5 | KES 1.25 | KES 1.25 |
Airtel | KES 4.5 | KES 4.5 | KES 4.25 | KES 4.25 |
Network | Telco Charge to the End User | Basic Plan KES 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan KES 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan KES 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan 1,000,000+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Safaricom | KES 1 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 |
Airtel | KES 3 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 |
Telkom | KES 1 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 | KES 0.25 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up Cost | Free |
Monthly Maintenance | UGX 500,000 |
Network | Cost |
---|---|
MTN (Charges are per 20 seconds of a session) | UGX 45 |
Airtel | UGX 170 |
Africell | UGX 110 |
Application
Service | Cost | Paid to |
---|---|---|
Code application fee | USD 250 + 18% VAT | UCC |
Initial Entry fee | USD 1000 + 18% VAT | UCC |
Code annual fee | USD 10000 + 18% VAT | UCC |
Code connectivity to networks (Cost is per telco) | USD 100 + 18% VAT | Telcos |
Setup fee | USD 250 + 18% VAT | AfricasTalking |
Monthly maintenance fee | USD 114.41 + 18% VAT | AfricasTalking |
Network | Cost |
---|---|
MTN (Charges are per 20 seconds of a session) | UGX 45 |
Airtel | UGX 170 |
Africell | UGX 110 |
A shared USSD code will be raised on Airtel, Tigo and Vodacom and attract an overall monthly maintenance fee of $110
A compulsory deposit of TZS 150000 is required for the session costBasic Plan (TZS 0 - 499,999) | Plus Plan (TZS 500,000 - 2,499,999) | Premium Plan (TZS 2,500,000 - 9,999,999) | Max Plan (TZS 10,000,000 +) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vodacom | TZS 107 | TZS 107 | TZS 100 | TZS 100 |
Tigo | TZS 65 | TZS 65 | TZS 60 | TZS 60 |
Airtel | TZS 20 | TZS 20 | TZS 20 | TZS 20 |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on Airtel, Tigo and Vodacom and attract an overall monthly maintenance fee of $150
A compulsory deposit of TZS 150000 is required for the session costApplication
Service | Cost | Paid to |
---|---|---|
USSD code acquisition | $2000 | TCRA |
USSD Licence Renewal | $2500 | TCRA |
Application Fee | $50 | TCRA |
Administration Fee | TZS 1,600,000 | Africa’s Talking |
Integration
Mobile Operator | Annual Fee | Set up |
---|---|---|
Airtel | $2300 (To Airtel) | $200 |
Tigo | Free | $50 |
Vodacom | Free | $50 |
Price per session
A compulsory deposit of TZS 150000 is required for the session costBasic Plan (TZS 0 - 499,999) | Plus Plan (TZS 500,000 - 2,499,999) | Premium Plan (TZS 2,500,000 - 9,999,999) | Max Plan (TZS 10,000,000 +) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vodacom | TZS 107 | TZS 107 | TZS 100 | TZS 100 |
Tigo | TZS 65 | TZS 65 | TZS 60 | TZS 60 |
Airtel | TZS 20 | TZS 20 | TZS 20 | TZS 20 |
A shared USSD code will be raised on MTN & Airtel.
A compulsory deposit of RWF 90600 is required for the session costService | Cost |
---|---|
One off setup fee | RWF 86500 |
Monthly maintenance fee | RWF 26000 per Telco |
Session cost | RWF 13 per Telco |
Application
Service | Cost |
---|---|
RURA Application Fee | RWF 25,000 |
RURA USSD fee(Paid annually) | $1000 |
Services
Telco | Set up fee(One off) | Monthly maintenance fee | Session Cost |
---|---|---|---|
MTN | RWF 100000 | RWF 259500 | RWF 13 |
Airtel | RWF 100000 | RWF 259500 | RWF 13 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up Cost | Free |
Monthly Maintenance | NGN 20,000 + 7.5% VAT |
Basic Plan NGN 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan NGN 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan NGN 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan NGN 1,000,000+ |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
MTN (Charges are per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 7.5 | NGN 7.0 | NGN 6.8 | NGN 6.5 |
Telco charge to end user | Basic Plan NGN 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan NGN 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan NGN 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan NGN 1,000,000+ |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Airtel (Charges per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 5 | NGN 2 | NGN 1.5 | NGN 1.2 | NGN 0.9 |
Glo (Charges per 120 seconds of a session) | NGN 10 | NGN 2 | NGN 1.5 | NGN 1.2 | NGN 0.9 |
9 Mobile (Charges per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 5 | NGN 2 | NGN 1.5 | NGN 1.2 | NGN 0.9 |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on MTN, Airtel and 9 Mobile and attract an overall monthly maintenance fee of NGN 70000 + 7.5% VAT
A compulsory deposit of NGN 100000 is required for the session costApplication
Service | Cost | Paid to |
---|---|---|
USSD code acquisition | NGN 11500 | NCC |
Application Fee | NGN 200000 | AfricasTalking |
Redeemable session cost | NGN 225000 + 7.5% VAT | AfricasTalking |
Price per session
Basic Plan NGN 0 - 99,999 |
Plus Plan NGN 100,000 - 499,999 |
Premium Plan NGN 500,000 - 999,999 |
Max Plan NGN 1,000,000+ |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
MTN (Charges per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 7.5 | NGN 7.0 | NGN 6.8 | NGN 6.5 |
Airtel (Charges per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 8.0 | NGN 7.5 | NGN 7.0 | NGN 6.8 |
9 Mobile (Charges per 20 seconds of a session) | NGN 8.0 | NGN 7.8 | NGN 7.5 | NGN 7.0 |
Type | Cost |
---|---|
Set Up Cost | Free |
Monthly Maintenance | MWK 25,000 |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on TNM and Airtel
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costApplication
Service | Cost | Paid to |
---|---|---|
USSD code acquisition | Free | MACRA |
Setup Fee | MWK 350,000 | AfricasTalking |
Services
Telco | Monthly Maintenance Fee | Session Cost |
---|---|---|
Airtel | MWK 209700 | MWK 25 |
TNM | MWK 139800 | MWK 55 per minute |
A shared USSD code will be raised on Airtel and MTN
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costService | Cost |
---|---|
One off setup fee | ZMW 1000 |
Monthly maintenance fee | ZMW 6000 |
Session cost | ZMW 1 per Telco |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on Airtel and MTN
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costApplication
Service | Cost | Paid to |
---|---|---|
USSD code acquisition | ZMW 42000 | ZICTA |
USSD licence renewal | ZMW 30000 | ZICTA |
Services
Type | Cost | Telco |
---|---|---|
Integration cost | ZMW 5000 | MTN |
Integration cost | ZMW 5000 | Airtel |
Monthly maintenance fee | ZMW 20000 | Airtel and MTN |
Session cost | ZMW 1 per session | Airtel and MTN |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and CellC
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costType | Cost |
---|---|
Set up cost (One off) | ZAR 5000 |
Monthly maintenance fee | ZAR 5000 |
Session Cost (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom CellC) | ZAR 0.50 per 20 secs |
A dedicated USSD code will be raised on MTN, Airtel Tigo and Vodacom
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costType | Cost |
---|---|
Regulator Fee | GHS 2,100 |
Set up cost (One off) | GHS 2,600 |
Monthly maintenance fee | GHS 3,000 per Telco |
Session Cost | GHS 0.015 |
A shared USSD code will be raised on MTN, Airtel Tigo and Vodacom
A compulsory deposit of $100 is required for the session costType | Cost |
---|---|
Monthly maintenance fee | GHS 900 |
Session Cost | GHS 0.015 |