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

TN 243 (10-23)

GN 02402.382 Coding Bulgaria Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria.

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 Bulgaria direct deposit and allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Bulgaria 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, DIO) for processing.

For more 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:

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    Blank check;

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    SSA-1199-OP55 International Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form for Bulgaria; or

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    Any document containing required banking information.

If upon receipt of the information, there are any discrepancies, follow instructions

  • •

    GN 00203.020 Identity of Claimants

  • •

    GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

C. Multi-country contract

The processing FI for Bulgaria 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 “G” assigned for Bulgaria.

D. Overview of IDD for Bulgaria

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 Bulgaria. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for additional information.

E. Description of Bulgaria IDD bank data

The data to code IDD for Bulgaria comes from the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) provided to the beneficiary by his or her FI.

The full length of the IBAN for Bulgaria consists of 22 characters.

However, the bank data on the MBR consists of 19 characters including Bulgaria’s country code of G.

F. Procedure for coding Bulgaria 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 SSA.

When establishing or changing IDD bank data for Bulgaria, you can use an SSA system (i.e. Modernized Claims System (MCS), Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE)).

However, you must go to ITS.gov to enter the following:

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    account ownership;

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    account type;

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    beneficiary address;

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    beneficiary ID (Beneficiary date of birth required in the “Beneficiary ID” field in the format DDMMYYYY);

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    country;

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    enrollment status;

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    first and last name of the beneficiary;

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    IBAN;

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    payee indicator;

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

NOTE: The 13th character of the Bulgarian IBAN cannot be an “8” for beneficiary payments.

1. Obtain SWIFT-BIC code from the FI

The SWIFT code consists of the following 8 to 11 alphanumeric characters:

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    First four characters - bank code (only letters);

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

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

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

2. Process initial award

Secure the full IBAN and SWIFT-BIC coding from the beneficiary at the time of filing.

If you are working on an initial award, you must update ITS.gov using the bank account information prior to processing the award to ensure 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 SSA.

3. 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 on the same day ITS.gov;

  • •

    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 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 Bulgarian Lev (BGN) account in Bulgaria?

If no, STOP.

REASON: Beneficiaries in Bulgaria can only receive IDD payments in BGN accounts.

If yes, go to step 4

4

The RTN is 680000035 for all IDD to Bulgaria. It contains the:

  • •

    multi-country prefix of “68” for Bulgaria IDD;

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    U.S. check digit of “5” for all IDD accounts in Bulgaria.

No need to obtain the check digit code from Title II Interactive

Comps.

5

Code the Type of Account as:

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    “S” for savings; or

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    “C” for checking.

If no indicated account type, use a “C” for checking account.

6

Code the Depositor Account Number (DAN) for Bulgaria as follows:

  • •

    Start with a country code of "G" designated for Bulgaria

  • •

    Code the eight-digit Customer Account Number.

7

You must take action on the same business day to enter all the information into ITS.gov listed in the introduction of GN 02402.382F in this section.

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 Bulgaria direct deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form for Montenegro containing the information IBAN BG80 BNBG 9661 1020 3456 78.

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    The first two characters of a Bulgaria IBAN are “BG,” which represents the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) country code.

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    The third and fourth characters of the IBAN are the IBAN check digits.

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    The fifth through eighth characters of the IBAN are the Bank Identifier.

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    The ninth through twelfth characters represent the Branch Identifier.

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    The thirteenth through fourteenth characters represent the Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN).

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    The technicians should never code the IBAN ISO country code, the check digit, the Bank Identifier, the Branch Identifier, or the Basic Bank Account Number to the MBR for Bulgaria.

  • •

    The last eight digits of the IBAN represent the eight-digit account number.

The technician should take the following actions:

1. Derive the RTN

The technician must code the RTN as follows:

  • •

    Code an RTN of 680000035

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    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

To derive the DAN, code as follows:

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    Start with a country code of G designated for Bulgaria; and

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    Code the eight-digit Account Number “20345678.”

3. Obtain the following information

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    IBAN: BG80 BNBG 9661 1020 3456 78

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    Checking

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    DAN: G20345678

a. The coding in an SSA System reflects

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    DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 680000035

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    ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

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    DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: G20345678

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    CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

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    DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

  • •

    RTN-680000035

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    DAN-CG20345678

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/0202402382
GN 02402.382 - Coding Bulgaria Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 10/18/2023
Batch run: 01/29/2024
Rev:10/18/2023