TN 240 (10-23)

GN 02402.400 Coding Kenya Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

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

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

If you receive an IDD request in a U.S. domestic (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 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 form of:

  • a blank check;

  • an SSA-1199-OP76 International Direct Deposit Signup Form; or

  • documents that contain 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

The processing FI for Kenya has a “66” at the beginning of the Routing Transit Number (RTN).

D. Overview of IDD for Kenya

IDD payments sent to Kenya must be in Kenya Shillings (KES) 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 Kenya. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of Kenya IDD bank data

The data to code IDD for Kenya comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR reflects up to 27 characters including the country code of “X” for Kenya.

F. Procedure for coding Kenya IDD bank data

The FRBKC relies on us to provide the complete bank data to post payments correctly to a customer’s account. If the information is incomplete, the FRBKC rejects the payment and returns the funds to us.

When you establish or change IDD bank data for Kenya through one of our systems (Modernized Claims System (MCS), Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE), etc.), you must go to ITS.gov to enter the:

  • account number;

  • account ownership;

  • account type;

  • beneficiary address; (no P.O. box address allowed)

  • 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. Obtain Swift-BIC code from the FI

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

  • first four characters - bank code (only alpha);

  • next two characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country code (only alpha);

  • next two characters - location code (alpha and numeric) (passive participants have a "1" in the second character); and

  • last three characters - branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office) (alpha and numeric).

2. Process initial award

Before you process the initial award, you must update ITS.gov with the bank account information 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 our agency.

3. Add or update bank data using our systems

When you add or update IDD bank data using one of our systems (Post Entitlement Online System (POS), and 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 chart in this section when you process the bank data 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 the IDD information.

3

 

Is the beneficiary's account a KES account in Kenya?

If no, STOP.

REASON: Beneficiaries in Kenya can only receive IDD payments in KES accounts.

If yes, go to step 4

4

 

The RTN is 660000026 for all IDD to Kenya. It contains the:

  • Multi-country prefix for Kenya “66.

  • U.S. check digit code of “6” at the end of the RTN for all IDD accounts in Kenya.

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

5

 

Code the account type:

  • “S” for savings, or

  • “C” for checking.

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

6

 

To code the Depositor Account Number (DAN) for Kenya, code:

  • “X” designated for Kenya

  • up to 16 digits of the 29-digit 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 02402.400F in this section.

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

When information is not available, FRBKC rejects the payment and returns it to our agency.

G. Example of coding direct deposit for Kenya

The customer provides us with a signup form for Kenya with the account number: 12345678901122334455667788990

  1. 1. 

    Code the RTN

    The technician enters the information for the RTN.

    • Code RTN as “660000026

    • Code the account type as “C” for checking or “S” for savings. If no account type indicated, use “C” for checking.

  2. 2. 

    Code the DAN

    The technician codes the DAN:

    • Start with country code “X” designated for Kenya; and

    • Code 16 digits of the 29-digit Customer Account Number “1234567890112233”

  3. 3. 

    Technician obtains this information

    • Checking

    • DAN: X1234567890112233

    1. a. 

      POS reflects the direct deposit information

      • DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 660000026

      • ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

      • DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: X1234567890112233

      • CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

      • DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

    2. b. 

      MBR reflects the direct deposit information

      • RTN 660000026

      • DAN CX1234567890112233

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/0202402400
GN 02402.400 - Coding Kenya Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 10/05/2023
Batch run: 01/29/2024
Rev:10/05/2023