SSA - POMS: GN 02402.310 - Coding Australia Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Australia 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 Australia. 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 Australia direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Australia 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 detail on IDD requests and forwarding information, see:

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GN 02402.201 Background and Policy for Direct Deposit Outside the U.S.
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GN 02402.205 Direct Deposit Enrollment Outside the U.S.
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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-OP3 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Australia; 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
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GN 02402.025 Direct Deposit Post Entitlement Interview

C. Multi-country contract

The processing FI in Australia will have a prefix of “61” at the beginning of the Routing and Transit Number (RTN).

D. Overview of IDD for Australia

IDD payments sent to Australia must be in Australia Dollars (AUD) 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 Australia. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of IDD bank data for Australia

The data for coding IDD for Australia comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR reflects up to 21 characters including an account number of up to twelve digits and a Bank State Branch (BSB) number of up to six digits.

F. Policy to code bank data for Australia

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 us. When you use our system to establish or change IDD bank data for Australia (e.g. Modernized Claims System (MCS), Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE)), you must go to ITS.gov to enter:

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account ownership;
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account type;
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account number;
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bank state branch code (BSB);
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beneficiary address (No post office (PO) boxes accepted);
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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;

1. Address input requirements for Australia

For all Australia IDD payments, you must enter an address into ITS.gov and our system (e.g. Post Entitlement Online System (POS), MACADE).

DO NOT input a PO box.

The address input must include the:

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street address
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suburb and four-digit numeric postcode;
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country code abbreviation “AU” in ITS.gov and the full country name in our system;
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abbreviated state name.

Refer to the chart in this section for the state abbreviations.


States	Abbreviations
New South Wales	NSW
Northern Territory	NT
Queensland	QLD
South Australia	SA
Tasmania	TAS
Victoria	VIC
Western Australia	WA
Australian Capital Territory	ACT

a. Australia address inputs for ITS.gov

When entering Australia addresses into ITS.gov, the information must appear in the designated order as indicated:

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Address Field 1, enter the beneficiary name
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Address Field 2, enter the representative payee name
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Address Field 3, enter the street address
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Address Field 4, enter the suburb and postcode
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Address Field 5, enter the abbreviated state and country code “AU” (ISO two-digit country code)

NOTE: Each field cannot exceed 22 characters.

b. Australia address inputs using our system

When entering Australia address information into our systems (e.g. Post Entitlement Online System (POS), MACADE), you must enter all the information described in the introduction of GN 02402.310F.1. Once input, the Department of the Treasury’s Fiscal Service will convert your inputs into the designated order.

2. Process initial award

Prior to processing an initial award, you must update ITS.gov with the bank account information to ensure that the beneficiary receives his or her payment. If the complete bank account information is not in ITS.gov when the payment processes, the payment rejects and returns to us.

3. Add or update bank data using our systems

When you add or update IDD bank data using our 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 the chart in this section when you process 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 will not accept the International Direct Deposit (IDD) information.
3.	Is the beneficiary's account an Australian Dollar (AUD) account? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in Australia can only receive IDD payments in AUD accounts. If yes, go to step 4.
4.	Code the nine-digit RTN for Australia as indicated: • Start with 61, the prefix SSA has designated for Australian direct deposit. • Code the six-digit Bank State Branch (BSB) Number. Do not code the hyphen. • Code the U.S. check digit, which you will obtain through Title II Interactive Comps. NOTE: The final digit is the U.S. check digit Code and is subject to change. Obtain check digit code through the Title II Interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16.
5.	Code the Type of Account as an “S” for savings or a “C” for checking. If no indicated account type, use a “C” for checking account.
6.	Code the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field with the Account Number (up to twelve characters). The Account Number may contain alpha characters, numeric, or hyphens. DO NOT include the hyphens if the total number of characters exceeds twelve characters.
7.	You must take action on the same business day to enter all the information into ITS.gov listed in the introduction of GN 02402.310F in this section. You must access ITS.gov or ask a co-worker to update the required information into ITS.gov. FRBKC rejects the payment and returns it to us when we do not send all required information.

G. Examples of coding bank data for Australia

This section provides examples of how to derive the DAN and RTN for Australia.

1. Example of Australia bank data with a nine-character account number

The customer provides us with a signup form for Australia containing the indicated BSB of 123-456 and account number of 007890-1S

a. Derive the RTN as indicated

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Code the prefix of “61”
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Code the BSB “123456” (no hyphen).
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Code the one-digit check code “6” (Obtain from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16.)
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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.

b. Derive the DAN as indicated

Code the nine-digit alphanumeric account number “007890-1S” (include the hyphen since the total number of characters is nine).

2. Example of Australia bank data with a five-character account number

The customer provides us with a signup form for Australia containing the indicated BSB of 234-567 and account number of 43432.

Derive the RTN as indicated

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Code the prefix of “61”
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Code the BSB “234567” (no hyphen).
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Code the one-digit check code “4” (Obtain from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16.)
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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.

Derive the DAN as indicated

Code the five-digit alphanumeric account number “43432.”

3. Example of Australia bank data with a 10-character account number

The customer provides us with a signup form for Australia containing the indicated BSB of 345-678 and account number of 1234-RD-56.