Effective Dates: 10/18/2023 - Present Previous | Next

TN 243 (10-23)

GN 02402.383 Coding Sierra Leone Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Sierra Leone bank data

This section describes how to code bank data for international direct deposit (IDD) of Title II benefits to a financial institution (FI) in Sierra Leone. The Social Security Administration (SSA) stores IDD bank data on the MBR in the same fields used for United States (U.S.) direct deposit.

Special coding identifies the data as a Sierra Leone direct deposit and allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Sierra Leone to the beneficiary's local FI.

If you receive an IDD request in a U.S. domestic (i.e., non-border) field office (FO), forward all appropriate information to the Office of Earnings and International Operations (OEIO), Division of International Operations (DIO) for processing.

For detail on IDD requests and forwarding information, see:

  • •

    GN 02402.201 Background and Policy for Direct Deposit Outside the U.S.

  • •

    GN 02402.205 Direct Deposit Enrollment Outside the U.S.

  • •

    GN 01010.255 Adjudication of Foreign Claims

  • •

    GN 01702.310C Routing of Claims for U.S. Benefits Involving Totalization

B. How we receive IDD bank data

We receive requests to input bank data by mail, phone, or fax in the following formats:

  • •

    Blank check;

  • •

    SSA-1199-OP67 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Sierra Leone; or

  • •

    Any document that contains required banking information.

If you receive information with discrepancies, see the following instructions:

  • •

    GN 00203.020 Identity of Claimants

  • •

    GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

C. Multi-country contract

The processing FI in Sierra Leone has a prefix of "68" at the beginning of the Routing Transit Number (RTN).The first letter of the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field has the letter “H” assigned for Sierra Leone.

D. Overview of IDD for Sierra Leone

IDD payments sent to Sierra Leone must be in Sierra Leone (SLE) accounts at local FIs. The beneficiary must provide complete information to DIO or the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) for input. DIO faxes incomplete forms to the FBU that serves that territory. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of Sierra Leone IDD bank data

The data for coding IDD for Sierra Leone comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data for Sierra Leone consists of 29 characters. However, the bank data on the MBR will reflect 27 characters including the country code of H.

F. Procedure for coding Sierra Leone bank data

The FRBKC relies on SSA to provide the complete bank data to ensure correct posting of payments to a customer’s account. If the information is incomplete, the FRBKC rejects the payment and returns the funds to our agency.

You may establish or change IDD bank data for Sierra Leone, using an SSA system (e.g., Modernized Claims System (MCS), or Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE)).

You must go to ITS.gov to enter the following information:

  • •

    account number;

  • •

    account ownership;

  • •

    account type;

  • •

    beneficiary address; (no P.O. Box allowed)

  • •

    bank code

  • •

    country;

  • •

    enrollment status;

  • •

    first and last name of the beneficiary;

  • •

    payee indicator; and

  • •

    Society for Worldwide Internet Financial Telecommunication-Business Identifier Code (SWIFT-BIC).

1. SWIFT-BIC code obtained from the FI

The SWIFT code contains a minimum of 8 characters and a maximum of 11 characters:

  • •

    First four characters - bank code (only letters);

  • •

    Next two characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha-two country code (only letters);

  • •

    Next two characters - location code (letters and digits) (passive participant have "1" in the second character); and

  • •

    Last three characters - branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office) (letters and digits).

2. Process initial award

Prior to processing an initial award, you must update ITS.gov with the bank account information to ensure that the beneficiary receives his or her payment.

If the complete bank account information is not in ITS.gov when the payment processes, the payment rejects and returns to our agency.

3. Add or update bank data in SSA systems

When you add or update IDD bank data using SSA systems (e.g. Post Entitlement Online System (POS, MACADE), you must:

  • •

    update ITS.gov on the same day;

  • •

    enter all POS direct deposit changes according to normal procedures;

  • •

    use the chart in this section when you process within four business days of the current operational month (COM) cutoff date.

Step

Action

1

Are you coding an initial claim?

If yes, go to step 3.

If no, go to step 2.

2

Is the beneficiary's address on the MBR in a foreign country (PCOC = 8)? If no, STOP.

REASON: The MBR does not accept the IDD information unless the address is in a foreign country.

If yes, go to step 3.

3

Is the beneficiary's account a SLE account in Sierra Leone? If no, STOP.

REASON: Beneficiaries in Sierra Leone can only receive IDD payments in SLE accounts.

4

To derive the nine-digit RTN for Sierra Leone, code as follows:

  • •

    Code the prefix of 68, (the multi-country prefix SSA and FRBKC designated to use for IDD to Sierra Leone),

  • •

    Code the 6-digit bank code,

  • •

    Code the1-digit check code (obtain through Title II Interactive Comps)

NOTE: The final digit is the U.S. check digit code and is subject to change. Obtain check digit code through the Title II Interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16.

5

Code the account type:

  • •

    “S” for savings, or

  • •

    “C” for checking.

If the beneficiary does not indicate an account type, use a “C” for checking account.

6

To code the Depositor Account Number (DAN) for Sierra Leone, code as follows:

  • •

    Start with a country code of “H” designated for Sierra Leone

  • •

    Code 16 digits of the 18-digit Customer Account Number

7

You must take action on the same business day to update the full DAN and SWIFT into ITS.gov, along with the information listed in the introduction of GN 02402.383F in this section.

You must access ITS.gov, or ask a co-worker to update the required information into ITS.gov.

FRBKC rejects the payment and returns it to our agency when we do not send all required information.

G. Example of coding Sierra Leone direct deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form for Sierra Leone containing the account number: 123456789012345678

1. Derive the RTN

The technician enters the following information for the RTN.

  • •

    Code the prefix of 68.

  • •

    Code the six-digit bank code “123456”

  • •

    Code the one-digit check code (i.e., 4) (obtained from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16);

  • •

    Code the type of account as a “C” for Checking or an “S” for Savings. If no account type indicated, use a “C” for Checking.

2. Derive the DAN

The technician codes the DAN for Sierra Leone as follows:

  • •

    Start with a country code of “H” designated for Sierra Leone; and

  • •

    Code 16 digits of the 18-digit Customer Account Number “1234567890123456”

The technician obtains the following:

RTN: 681234564

Checking

DAN: H1234567890123456

The coding in POS reflects:

DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 681234564

ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: H1234567890123456

CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

The MBR reflects the following information:

RTN- 681234564 DAN - CH1234567890123456

H. References

  • •

    GN 00203.020 Identity of Claimants

  • •

    GN 01010.255 Adjudication of Foreign Claims

  • •

    GN 01702.310C Routing of Claims for U.S. Benefits Involving Totalization

  • •

    GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

  • •

    GN 02402.201 Background and Policy for Direct Deposit Outside the U.S.

  • •

    GN 02402.205 Direct Deposit Enrollment Outside the U.S.

  • •

    ITS.gov International Treasury Services (U.S. Treasury system)

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0202402383
GN 02402.383 - Coding Sierra Leone Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 10/18/2023
Batch run: 05/06/2025
Rev:10/18/2023