SSA - POMS: GN 02402.351 - Coding Iceland Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)

A. Background for coding Iceland 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 Iceland. We store bank data on the MBR in the same fields used for United States (U.S.) direct deposit.

Special coding identifies the data as an Iceland direct deposit and allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Iceland 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 more 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-OP28 International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Iceland; 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 Iceland has a prefix of "66" at the beginning of the Routing Transit Number (RTN). The first letter of the Depositor Account Number (DAN) field has the letter “L” assigned for Iceland.

D. Overview of IDD for Iceland

IDD payments sent to Iceland 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 will fax incomplete forms to the FBU that serves Iceland. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for additional information.

E. Description of Iceland IDD bank data

The data for coding IDD for Iceland comes from the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) provided to the beneficiary from his or her FI. The IBAN will be 26 characters. However, the bank data reflected on the MBR consist of 27 characters, including the country code of “L” for Iceland. Technicians will use the IBAN to derive the RTN and DAN when processing an IDD request.

F. Procedure for coding Iceland 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 Iceland 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
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payee indicator
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enrollment status
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country
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account type
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account ownership
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International Bank Account Number (IBAN)
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beneficiary address
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reclamation country

1. Initial award processing

Secure IBAN coding from the beneficiary at the time of filing. The FBU inputs an initial IDD claim if the beneficiary elects the option of direct deposit. All initial IDD claims that an FBU takes for Iceland require input into ITS.gov and an SSA system (i.e. MCS, MACADE, etc.) on the same day. You must complete all initial claims that the International Benefits Office (IBO) takes. You must input all initial claims involving Iceland IDD into ITS.gov and an SSA system (i.e. MCS, MACADE, etc.) on the same day.

NOTE: If there is dire need or hardship involved, advise the beneficiary of the option of initiating payment via a paper check. Inform the beneficiary that the bank may charge for cashing the check. If the beneficiary chooses the option of paper check, the FBU documents and processes the initial claim.

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 yes, go to step 3. If no, STOP. REASON: The MBR will not accept the IDD information.
3	Is the beneficiary's account a U.S. dollar (USD) account in Iceland? If no, STOP. REASON: Beneficiaries in Iceland can only receive IDD payments in USD accounts. If yes, go to step 4
4	To derive the 9-digit RTN for Iceland: • Start with the multi-country prefix of "66" for Iceland IDD, • Code 2 filler zeros “00,” • Code the 2-digit bank code, • Code the 2-digit branch code, • Code the U.S. check digit code, which you 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 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	Code the DAN for Iceland as follows: • Start with the country code of “L” designated for Iceland. • Code 16 digits of the 18-digit account number.
7	You must take action on the same business day to enter into ITS.gov all the information listed in GN 02402.351F. 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 Iceland direct deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form with the IBAN of: "IS140159260076545510730339."

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The first 2 characters of the Iceland IBAN are “IS,” the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) country code.
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The third and fourth characters are the IBAN check digits. The technicians should never code these to the MBR.
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The fifth and sixth digits are the bank code.
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The seventh and eighth digits are the branch code.
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The last 18 characters represent the account number.

1. Derive the RTN

The technician enters the information for the RTN.

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Code the prefix of 66 (SSA-designated prefix for IDD);
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Code 2 filler zeros “00”;
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Code the 4-digit bank code “01”;
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Code the 4-digit branch code “59”;
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Code the 1-digit check digit code (i.e., 8) (obtained 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 there is no type of account indicated, 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 Iceland;
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Code 16 digits of the 18-digit account number “2600765455107303”;
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Input full IBAN through ITS.gov, so that the final two digits of the DAN annotate. The MBR only houses up to 17 characters in the DAN field.

3. Obtain the following information

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RTN: 660001598
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Checking
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DAN: L2600765455107303

a. POS reflects the direct deposit information

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DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 660001598 ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C
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DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: L2600765455107303 (17-character limit)
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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- 660001598
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DAN- CL2600765455107303

H. References

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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.
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GN 02402.205 Direct Deposit Enrollment Outside the U.S.
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ITS.gov International Treasury Services (U.S. Treasury system)

Social Security

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

GN 02402.351 Coding Iceland Bank Data on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)