SSA - POMS: GN 02402.331 - Coding South African Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding South African 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 South Africa. 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 South African direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in South Africa 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 bank data by mail, phone, or fax in the following formats:

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Blank check;
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SSA-1199-OP22 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for South Africa; or
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Any document that contains required banking information.

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

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GN 00203.020 Identity of Claimants
•

GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

C. Multi-country contract

The processing FI in South Africa will have a prefix of “71” at the beginning of the Routing Transit Number (RTN). The first letter of the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field has the letter “M” assigned to South Africa.

D. Overview of IDD for South Africa

IDD payments sent to South Africa must be in South African Rand (ZAR) 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 South Africa. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of South African IDD bank data

The data to code IDD for South Africa comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR reflects up to 26 characters, including the country code of "M."

South African bank data has the following characteristics:

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A bank code of 8 digits, of which we use only the first 6 digits, and
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An account number of up to 16 characters, including hyphens.
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An @ symbol to signify the end of the account number. We do not use the @ symbol in coding the account number.

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 South African 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 South Africa 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:

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first and last name of the beneficiary
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payee indicator
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enrollment status
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country
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account type
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account ownership
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6-digit bank code
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16-digit account number
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beneficiary address
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reclamation country

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:

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update ITS.gov on the same day;
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enter all POS direct deposit changes according to normal procedures;

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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 ZAR account in South Africa? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in South Africa can only receive IDD payments in ZAR accounts. If yes, go to step 4.
4	To derive the 9-digit RTN for South Africa, code as follows: – Prefix of 71 (the multi-country prefix SSA designated for South Africa), – 6-digit bank code. If extra digits are provided, code only the first 6 digits. – U.S. check digit (obtained through 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 DAN for South Africa, code: – “M” as designated for South Africa, – 16-digit account number.
7	You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov all the information listed in GN 02402.331F. 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 South African bank data

The customer provides us with a signup form for South Africa containing the following information:

Bank code: 123456 Account Number: 1234567890123456@

1. Derive the RTN

The technician enters the information for the RTN.

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Prefix of “71” (the multi-country prefix for South Africa),
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6-digit bank code: "123456" (If extra digits are provided, code only the first 6 digits.)
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U.S. check digit (i.e., 3) (obtained from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16), and
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Code the account type 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.

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Start with the country code of “M” designated for South Africa; and
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Code 16 digits of the account number 1234567890123456. The @ symbol is not coded.

3. Obtain the following information

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RTN: 711234563
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Checking
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DAN: M1234567890123456

a. POS reflects the direct depost information

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DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 711234563 ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C
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DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: M1234567890123456
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CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):
•

DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

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RTN- 711234563
•

DAN- CM1234567890123456

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 02402.331 Coding South African Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)