Skip to main content
Delivering across MTN, Airtel, Glo & 9mobile — with real delivery reports on every message. 08169961829 support@egabsms.com
USSD Short Codes

Reach the customer with no smartphone, no data and no app to download.

A USSD menu works on every handset on every Nigerian network — the same experience your customer already uses to check their airtime balance. It is the widest-reaching digital channel in the country, and the only one that never asks for data.

  • Works on every handset
  • Zero data required
  • All 4 networks
  • Connects to your system

No customer left out

Millions of Nigerians transact daily on phones that will never run your app. USSD is how you serve them without asking them to upgrade.

Works where data doesn't

USSD rides the GSM signalling channel. If a phone has bars, your service works — rural coverage, poor network, empty data bundle and all.

Familiar in seconds

There is nothing to learn. Numbered menus are the interface every Nigerian phone user already understands.

What you can build

Menu-driven experiences for the moments that matter

  • Query services — balance checks, order status and results lookup, all without a data connection.
  • Data collection — surveys, feedback and field data entry from users who never touch an app.
  • User registration — onboard customers or beneficiaries directly from a feature phone.
  • Session-based flows that guide a user step by step to exactly the answer they came for.
Service types

Four things a USSD menu does well

Query Services

Balance checks, order status, exam results and eligibility lookups — with no data connection at all.

Data Collection

Surveys, field reports and feedback captured from users who will never open an app.

Registration

Sign up customers, members or beneficiaries directly from a ₦5,000 feature phone.

Self-Service

Let customers change a plan, request a callback or trigger an action without calling support.

Industries using USSD

No internet required means no customer left behind

Fintech & Banking

Balance checks, mini statements and transfers for customers with no data plan.

Government & NGOs

Registration and survey drives that reach rural and low-connectivity populations.

Schools

Result checks and enrolment status lookups for parents on any handset.

Logistics

Order status lookups for customers who can't or won't install an app.

Insurance & Health

Policy checks, claim initiation and enrolment for micro-insurance schemes.

Agriculture

Market prices, input orders and advisory services for farmers off the data grid.

How USSD works

One short code, a guided menu, an answer in seconds

USSD service characteristics
Device requirementAny mobile phone — feature phone or smartphone
Connectivity requirementNone. Runs over the GSM signalling channel
Interaction modelSession-based menu with numbered options
NetworksMTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile
IntegrationHTTP callback per menu step, against your own system
Typical use casesQuery, registration, data collection, self-service
USSD
Scoped to your menu

Short-code type, menu depth and monthly session volume each move the number substantially, so we scope USSD per project rather than publish a rate that would be wrong for almost everyone.

  • Short-code provisioning handled for you
  • Menu design workshop before you commit
  • Integration support against your own system
  • Pairs with SMS receipts on the same account
Talk to Us About USSD
USSD FAQs

What teams ask before scoping a USSD service

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is the short-code system Nigerians already use to check airtime — you dial something like *123#, a menu appears, and you reply with a number. It runs over the GSM signalling channel, so it needs no internet, no app and no smartphone.

No. USSD works on every handset on every Nigerian network, including the cheapest feature phone, and consumes no data at all. That is precisely why it reaches customers other channels cannot.

USSD pricing depends on the short code you use (dedicated or shared), the depth of your menu and your expected monthly session volume. Because those three variables change the number completely, we scope and quote each USSD project individually rather than publish a single rate.

The build itself is usually quick; the timeline is normally set by short-code provisioning and network approval. Tell us your target launch date and we will map the dependencies with you before you commit.

Yes. Each menu step calls your endpoint with the session state, and your response decides what the user sees next — so your existing core banking, school or logistics system stays the source of truth.

Yes, and most customers do. A typical flow completes a transaction over USSD and then confirms it with an SMS receipt, so the customer keeps a record on their phone.

Have a USSD idea? Let us scope it with you.

Tell us what a customer should be able to do from any phone, and we will map the menu, the short code and the timeline.

Scope My USSD Project Book a Demo