SSA - POMS: GN 02402.324 - Coding Haitian Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Haiti 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 Haiti. 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 Haitian direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Haiti 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 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-HC International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Haiti; or
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Any document that contains 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

All Caribbean countries for which Citibank is the processor bank have a prefix of "70" at the beginning of the routing number (RTN). The first letter of the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field has the letter “L” assigned for Haiti.

D. Overview of IDD for Haiti

IDD payments sent to Haiti must be in U.S. Dollar (USD) 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 Haiti. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of Haitian IDD bank data

The data to code IDD for Haiti comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR reflects up to 21 characters including:

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The country code of "L",
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A bank code of 9 digits (a zero, a 3-digit bank code and a 5-digit branch code), and
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An account number of up to 12 characters.

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 Haitian 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 Haiti 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
•

payee indicator
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enrollment status
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country
•

account type
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account ownership
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3-digit bank code
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5-digit branch code
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account number (up to 12 digits)
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beneficiary address; (no P.O. box address allowed)
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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 USD account in Haiti? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in Haiti can only receive IDD payments in USD accounts. If yes, go to step 4.
4	To derive the 9-digit RTN for Haiti, code as follows: – Prefix of 70 (the multi-country prefix SSA and FRBKC designated to use for IDD to Haiti), – A filler zero “0”, – 3-digit bank code – the first 2 digits of the branch code – 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 Haiti, code: – "L" as designated for Haiti, – The remaining 3 digits of the branch code, and – Up to 12 digits of the account number.
7	You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov all the information listed in GN 02402.324F. 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 Haitian direct deposit

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

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Account number: 123456789012
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Bank code: 123
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Branch code: 45678

1. Derive the RTN

The technician enters the information for the RTN.

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Prefix of “70” (the multi-country prefix for Haiti),
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A filler zero "0"
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3-digit bank code: “123”
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the first 2 digits of the branch code: "45"
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U.S. check digit (i.e., 2) (obtained from the Title II interactive Comps from the Main Menus 07/Sub Menu 16), and
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The type of account as a “C” for checking or an “S” for savings. If there is no indicated account type, use a “C” for checking.

2. Derive the DAN

The technician codes the DAN.

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Start with the country code of "L" designated for Haiti,
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Code the remaining 3 digits of the branch code, and
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Code 12 digits of the account number 123456789012 (Do not include any dashes or spaces).

3. Obtain the following information

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RTN: 700123452
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Checking
•

DAN: L678123456789012

a. POS reflects the direct deposit information

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DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 700123452 ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C
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DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: L678123456789012
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CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):
•

DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

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RTN- 700123452
•

DAN- CL678123456789012

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 02402.324 Coding Haitian Bank Data for the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)