SSA - POMS: GN 02402.454 - Coding Vanuatu Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

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

• Blank check;

• SSA-1199-OP131 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Vanuatu; or

• 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

The processing FI in Vanuatu will have a prefix of “74” at the beginning of the Routing and Transit Number (RTN). The first letter of the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field has the letter “G” assigned for Vanuatu.

D. Overview of IDD for Vanuatu

IDD payments sent to Vanuatu must be in Vanuatu Vatu (VUV) 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 Vanuatu. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of Vanuatu IDD bank data

The data to code IDD for Vanuatu comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR reflects up to 23 characters including the country code of G.

F. Procedure for coding Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu 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:

• account ownership

• account type

• account number

• beneficiary address (no P.O. box address allowed)

• beneficiary phone number

• country

• enrollment status

• first and last name of the beneficiary

• payee indicator

• Society for Worldwide Internet Financial Telecommunication-Business Identifier Code (SWIFT-BIC)

1. Obtain Swift-BIC code from the FI

The SWIFT code contains a minimum of 8 characters, and a maximum of 11 characters:

• first four characters - bank code (alpha only);

• next two characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country code (alpha only);

• next two characters - location code (alpha and numeric) (passive participants have "1" in the second character); and

• last three characters - branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office) (alpha and numeric).

2. 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.

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:

• update ITS.gov on the same day;

• enter all POS direct deposit changes according to normal procedures;

• 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 VUV account in Vanuatu? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in Vanuatu can only receive IDD payments in VUV accounts. If yes, go to step 4.
4	The RTN is 740000069 RTN for Vanuatu. It contains the: • Multi-country prefix of “74” for Vanuatu IDD; • U.S. check digit code of “9” at the end of the RTN for all IDD accounts in Vanuatu. No need to obtain the check digit code from Title II Interactive Comps.
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 Depositor Account Number (DAN) for Vanuatu, code: • “G” is designated for Vanuatu • Up to 14 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 02402.454F. 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 Vanuatu direct deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form for Vanuatu containing the account number: “12345678901122.”

1. Derive the RTN

The technician enters the information for the RTN.

• Code the RTN of 740000069

• 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.

• Start with the country code of “G” designated for Vanuatu; and

• Code up to 14 digits of the account number “12345678901122”

3. Obtain the following information:

• RTN: 740000069

• Checking

• DAN: G12345678901122

a. POS reflects the direct deposit information

• DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 740000069 ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

• DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: G12345678901122

• CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

• DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. The MBR reflects the following information

• RTN- 740000069

• DAN- CG12345678901122

H. References