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

TN 243 (10-23)

GN 02402.384 Coding Ethiopia Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Ethiopian 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 Ethiopia. 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 an Ethiopian direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Ethiopia 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-OP60 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Ethiopia; 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 for Ethiopia 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 “I” assigned for Ethiopia.

D. Overview of IDD for Ethiopia

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

E. Description of Ethiopia IDD bank data

The data for coding IDD for Ethiopia comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR consists of 24 characters including Ethiopia country code of “I”.

F. Procedure for coding Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia, 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 information:

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    account number

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    account ownership;

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    account type;

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

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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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    payee indicator;

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    bank branch name and address under bank contact information

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    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:

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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. Initial award processing

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 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 SSA.

3. Adding or updating bank data using SSA systems

You must update ITS.gov on the same day if you use an SSA system to add or update bank data on the MBR (i.e. Post Entitlement Online System (POS), MACADE). Enter all POS direct deposit changes according to normal procedures. When coding IDD bank data in an SSA system for Ethiopia within four business days of the current operational month (COM) cutoff date, use the procedure outlined in the following chart:

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 an ETB account in Ethiopia? If no, STOP.

REASON: Beneficiaries in Ethiopia can only receive IDD payments in ETB accounts.

If yes, go to step 4

4

The RTN is 680000051 for all IDD to Ethiopia. SSA and FRBKC have designated 68 as the multi-country prefix for Ethiopia IDD. The “1” at the end of the RTN represents the U.S. check digit code for all IDD accounts in Ethiopia. Therefore, there is no need to obtain the check digit code from Title II Interactive Comps.

5

Code the account type:

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    “S” for savings, or

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    “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 Ethiopia, code as follows:

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    Start with a country code of “I” designated for Ethiopia

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    Code the 13-digit Customer Account Number

7

You must take action on the same business day to update the full SWIFT into ITS.gov, along with the information listed in the introduction of GN 02402.384E 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 Ethiopia direct deposit

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

Account Number: 1234567890123

1. Derive the RTN

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    Code an RTN of 680000051

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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

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    Start with a country code of “I” designated for Ethiopia; and

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    Code the 13-digit Customer Account Number “1234567890123”

3. Obtain the following information:

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    RTN: 680000051

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    Checking

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    DAN: I1234567890123

a. POS reflects the direct deposit information

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    DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 680000051

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    ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

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    DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: I1234567890123

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    CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

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    DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

  • •

    RTN-680000051

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    DAN-CI1234567890123

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/0202402384
GN 02402.384 - Coding Ethiopia Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 10/18/2023
Batch run: 05/06/2025
Rev:10/18/2023