TN 246 (12-23)

GN 02402.321 Coding Dominican Republic Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic. 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 Dominican Republic direct deposit. This allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Dominican Republic 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-SP-OP1 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Dominican Republic; 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

Citibank is the processor bank for IDD to several countries, including the Dominican Republic. All countries for which Citibank is the processor bank have a prefix of 70 at the beginning of the routing number (RTN) and an assigned letter in the first position of the Depositor Account Number (DAN). The letter assigned for the Dominican Republic is J.

D. Overview of IDD for Dominican Republic

IDD payments sent to Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for the additional information.

E. Description of Dominican Republic Bank Data

All bank accounts in Dominican Republic are savings accounts.

Dominican Republic bank data consists of a total of up to 21 digits, as follows:

  • A zero, a 3-digit bank code, and a 5-digit branch code.

  • An account number of up to 12 digits.

F. Procedure for coding Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic 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

  • 3-digit bank code

  • 5-digit branch code

  • up to 12 digits account number

  • bank address

  • beneficiary address -

  • beneficiary phone number

  • country

  • enrollment status

  • first and last name of the beneficiary

  • payee indicator

  • 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 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 USD account in Dominican Republic ? If no, STOP .

     

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

    If yes, go to step 4.

    4

    Code the RTN field as follows:
    • Start with 70, the prefix assigned to Caribbean countries for which Citibank is the processor bank.

    • Code a zero, the 3-digit bank code, and the first 2 digits of the 5-digit branch code. Code the U.S. check digit. Obtain the U.S. check digit by using the Check Digit program on Title II/Interactive Comps.

    5

    Code the type of account as Savings.

     

    NOTE: All bank accounts in Dominican Republic are savings accounts.

    6

    Code the DAN as follows:
    • Start with J, the letter assigned to show that the FI is in the Dominican Republic.

    • Code the remaining 3 digits of the branch code.

    • Code the account number of up to 12 digits. Do not include any alpha characters, dashes or spaces.

    7

    You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov all the information listed in GN 02402.321F.

    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 Dominican Republic direct deposit

EXAMPLE 1: A signup form for the Dominican Republic contains the name and address of the bank, and Account Number 123456789012. The consular office checks with the bank and finds the assigned bank code is 123, branch code 45678.

  • The RTN will be 700123452. (The final digit, 2, is the U.S. check digit for 70012345.)

  • The DAN will be J678123456789012.

EXAMPLE 2: With an initial claim, DIO receives a Dominican Republic signup form that contains the following information:

  • Bank code 011122222.

  • Account Number 123412341234.

The correct coding is: RTN 700111228, DAN J222123412341234.

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/0202402321
GN 02402.321 - Coding Dominican Republic Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - 12/12/2023
Batch run: 02/07/2024
Rev:12/12/2023