SSA - POMS: GN 02402.326 - Coding Jamaican Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Jamaican 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 Jamaica. We store IDD bank data on the MBR in the same fields used for U.S. direct deposit.

Special coding identifies the bank data as a Jamaican direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Jamaica 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) to process.

For detailed instructions 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 account data by mail, phone, or fax in the following formats:

•

Blank check;
•

SSA-1199-OP15 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Jamaica; or
•

Any document that contains the 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

Citibank is the processor FI for IDD to several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica. All Caribbean countries for which Citibank is the processor FI have a prefix of "70" at the beginning of the routing transit number (RTN) and an assigned letter in the first position of the depositor account number (DAN). The letter assigned for Jamaica is “M.”

D. Overview of IDD for Jamaica

IDD payments sent to Jamaica must be in Jamaican Dollar (JMD) accounts at local FIs. The beneficiary must provide complete information to DIO or the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) for input. DIO will fax incomplete forms to the FBU that serves Jamaica. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for additional information.

E. Description of Jamaican IDD bank data

The bank data for Jamaica will come from financial institutions (FIs) that the FRBKC has determined can process handle the IDD. The FRBKC identified and listed the participating FIs on the International Treasury Services (ITS.gov) website as part of the ITS help file.

The bank data on the MBR consists of up to 25 characters, including the country code of “M” for Jamaica.

IMPORTANT: Because the DAN field can only hold up to 16 digits, complete bank information must be coded in ITS.gov for each beneficiary. Additional characters may be required for the IDD payment to process. Therefore, technicians must follow a two-step process to avoid payment rejection:

1.

Input all IDD bank data in ITS.gov, as outlined in Section F; and
2.

Input the allowable number of characters via SSA systems to update the MBR.

F. Procedure for coding Jamaican bank data

The FRBKC relies on us 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 Jamaica using an SSA system (e.g. Modernized Claims System (MCS), Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE)).

You must then go to ITS.gov to enter the following data:

•

first and last name of the beneficiary
•

payee indicator
•

enrollment status
•

country
•

account type
•

account ownership
•

3-digit bank code
•

5-digit branch code
•

account number (up to 12 digits)
•

beneficiary address

1. Process initial award

You must update ITS.gov with the bank account information prior to processing an initial award to ensure that the beneficiary receives payment. If the complete bank account information is not in ITS.gov when the payment processes, the payment rejects and returns to our agency.

2. Add or update bank data using SSA systems

When you add or update IDD bank data using an SSA system (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 procedures outlined in the following chart when processing 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 yes, go to step 3. If no, STOP. REASON: The MBR will not accept IDD information (RTN begins with 5, 6, or 7) unless the address is in a foreign country.
3	Is the beneficiary's account a JMD account in Jamaica? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in Jamaica can only receive IDD payments in JMD accounts. If yes, go to step 4.
4	To derive the 9-digit RTN for Jamaica: • Start with 70, the prefix assigned to Caribbean countries for which Citibank is the processor FI. • Code a filler zero ("0"), • Code the 3-digit bank code, • Code the first two digits of the 5-digit branch/transit code. • Code the U.S. check digit. Obtain the U.S. check digit by using the Check Digit program on 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	Code the DAN for Jamaica: • Start with a country code of “M” designated for Jamaica. • Code the remaining 3 digits of the branch/transit code. • Code the account number (up to 12 digits). Do not include any dashes or spaces.
7	You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov all the information listed in GN 02402.326F. You must access ITS.gov or ask a co-worker to update the required information into ITS.gov. REMINDER: When information is not available, FRBKC rejects the payment and returns it to our agency.

G. Example of coding Jamaican direct deposit

The customer provides the signup form for Jamaica containing the following information:

•

Bank code: 123
•

Branch code: 45678
•

Account Number: 123456789012

1. Derive RTN

The technician enters the information for the RTN.

•

Code the prefix of 70 (the multi-country prefix for Jamaica)
•

Code the filler zero “0”
•

Code the 3-digit bank code: 123
•

Code the first 2 digits of the branch code: 45
•

Code the U.S. check digit (obtained from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16)

2. Derive the DAN

The technician codes the DAN.

•

Use the letter “M” (for Jamaica)
•

The remaining 3 digits of the branch code: 678
•

The 12-digit account number 1234567891012

3. Obtain the following information

•

RTN: 700123452
•

Checking
•

DAN: M678123456789012

a. POS reflects the direct deposit information

•

DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 700123452

ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C
•

DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: M678123456789012
•

CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):
•

DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

•

RTN- 700123452
•

DAN- CM678123456789012

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)

Social Security

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

GN 02402.326 Coding Jamaican Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)