Effective Dates: 11/02/2023 - Present Previous | Next

TN 245 (11-23)

GN 02402.389 Coding Laos Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Laos 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 Laos. 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 Laos direct deposit and allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Laos 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

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    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-OP64 International Direct Deposit Signup Form Laos; or

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    Any document containing required banking information.

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

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    GN 00203.020 Identity of Claimants

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    GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

C. Multi-country contract

The processing FI in Laos will have 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 “N” assigned for Laos.

D. Overview of IDD for Laos

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

E. Description of Laos IDD bank data

The data for coding IDD for Laos comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data for Laos consists of 29 characters. However, the bank data on the MBR will reflect 27 characters including the country code of N.

F. Procedure for coding Laos 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 Laos, 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 number;

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    account ownership;

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    account type;

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    beneficiary address; (no P.O. box address 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; and

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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-BIC 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. Process initial award

You must update ITS.gov using 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.

3. Add or update bank data using SSA systems

When you add or update IDD bank data using 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 USD account in Laos? If no, STOP.

REASON: Beneficiaries in Laos can only receive IDD payments in USD accounts.

If yes, go to step 4.

4

The RTN is 680000080 for all IDD to Laos. SSA and FRBKC have designated 68 as the:

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    Multi-country prefix for Laos IDD.

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    U.S. check digit code of “0” at the end of the RTN for all IDD accounts in Laos

    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 Laos, code as follows:

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    Start with a country code of N

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    Code 16 digits of the 18 digit Customer Account Number.

7

You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov, the information listed in GN 02402.389F.

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

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

G. Example of coding Laos direct deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form for Laos containing the following information: "123456789012345678".

1. Derive the RTN as follows

The technician enters the RTN information.

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    Code the RTN of 680000080

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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

The technician codes the DAN.

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    Start with a country code of N designated for Laos; and

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    Code 16 digits of the18-digit Account Number 1234567890123456

3. Obtain the following information:

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    RTN: 680000080

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    Checking

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    DAN: N1234567890123456

a. POS reflects the following information

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    DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 680000080 ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

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    DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: N1234567890123456

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    CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

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    DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

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    RTN- 680000080

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    DAN- CN1234567890123456

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/0202402389
GN 02402.389 - Coding Laos Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 11/02/2023
Batch run: 05/06/2025
Rev:11/02/2023