POMS Reference

GN 02402: Direct Deposit - Title II and Title XVI

TN 81 (10-17)

This section describes how to code bank data for international direct deposit (IDD) of Title II benefits to a financial institution (FI) in Paraguay. The Social Security Administration (SSA) stores IDD bank data on the MBR in the same fields used for United States (U.S.) direct deposit. Special coding identifies the data as a Paraguay direct deposit and allows us to route benefit payments through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) and the processor bank in Paraguay to the beneficiary's local FI. If you receive an IDD request in a U.S. domestic (non-border) field office (FO), forward all appropriate information for processing to the Office of Earnings and International Operations, Division of International Operations (OEIO, DIO).

For more detail on IDD requests and forwarding information, see the following sections:

A. How we receive IDD bank data

We receive requests to input bank data by mail, phone, or fax in the following formats:

  • Blank check;

  • Form SSA-1199-OP66 (International Direct Deposit Signup Form for Paraguay), or

  • any document containing required banking information.

NOTE: If upon receipt of the information, there are any discrepancies, follow instructions in GN 00203.020 and GN 02402.025.

B. Multi-country contract

The processing FI in Paraguay has a prefix of “68” at the beginning of the Routing Transit Number (RTN).

C. Overview of IDD for Paraguay

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 Paraguay. The FBU contacts the beneficiary or FI for additional information.

D. Description of Paraguay IDD bank data

The data for coding IDD for Paraguay comes from banks determined by the FRBKC. The bank data on the MBR consists of 19 characters including the country code of “P”.

E. Procedure for coding Paraguay bank data

The FRBKC relies on SSA 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 SSA. When establishing or changing IDD bank data for Paraguay, you can use an SSA system (Modernized Claims System (MCS), or Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry (MACADE) system). However, you must go to ITS.gov to enter the following information:

  • account number;

  • account type;

  • account ownership;

  • beneficiary address;

  • 6, 7, or 8 digit Beneficiary Tax or National ID number located on bottom right corner below picture on Cedula de Identidad Civil ID card (enter in the “Beneficiary ID” field);

  • 4 to 7 digit Bank National ID, or 35-digit alphanumeric Bank or Branch Name (enter in the “Country Bank Info” field);

  • country;

  • enrollment status;

  • first and last name of the beneficiary;

  • payee indicator;

  • 8 to 9 character passport number, or state issued ID number (1 to 2 alpa numeric and 3 to 9 numeric); and

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

1. SWIFT-BIC code obtained from the FI

The SWIFT-BIC contains a minimum of 8 characters and a maximum of 11 characters:

  • First four characters - bank code (only letters); 

  • Next two characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha-two country code (only letters); 

  • Next two characters - location code (letters and digits) (passive participant code shows "1" as the second character); and 

  • Last three characters - branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office) (letters and digits). 

2. Initial award processing

If you are working on an initial award, you must update ITS.gov using the bank account information prior to processing the award 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 SSA.

3. Adding or updating bank data using SSA systems

You must update ITS.gov on the same day if you use an SSA system to add or update bank data on the MBR (Post Entitlement Online System (POS), or MACADE). Enter all POS direct deposit changes according to normal procedures. When coding IDD bank data in an SSA system for Paraguay within four business days of the current operational month (COM) cutoff date, use the procedure outlined in the following chart:

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 U.S. Dollar (USD) account in Paraguay?

If no, STOP.

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

4

The RTN is 680000048 for all IDD to Paraguay.

SSA and FRBKC have designated “68” as the multi-country prefix for Paraguay IDD.

The “8” at the end of the RTN represents the U.S. check digit code for all IDD accounts in Paraguay. Therefore, there is no need to obtain the check digit code from Title II Interactive Comps.

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

To code the Depositor Account Number (DAN) for Paraguay, code as follows:

  • Start with a country code of “P”; and

  • Code the 9-digit Customer Account Number.

7

You must take action on the same business day to enter full SWIFT into ITS.gov, along with the information listed in the introduction of GN 02402.391E in this section.

If you do not have access to ITS.gov, ask a co-worker who has access to update the required information into ITS.gov.

FRBKC needs all of this information in order to process the IDD payment. When this information is not available, FRBKC rejects the payment and returns it to SSA.

F. Example - Coding Paraguay Direct Deposit

The customer provides us with a signup form for Paraguay containing the Account Number: 123456789.

1. RTN code

Derive the RTN as follows:

  • code the RTN of 680000048; and

  • 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. DAN code

Derive the DAN as follows:

  • start with a country code of “P” designated for Paraguay; and

  • code the 9-digit Customer Account Number “123456789”.

3. The technician’s responsibilities

The technician obtains the following information:

  • RTN: 680000048,

  • Checking, and

  • DAN: P123456789.

a. SSA system coding

The coding in an SSA system reflects the following:

  • DIRECT DEPOSIT ROUTING TRANSIT NUMBER: 680000048

  • ACCOUNT TYPE (C/S): C

  • DEPOSITOR ACCOUNT NUMBER: P123456789

  • CANCEL DIRECT DEPOSIT (Y):

  • DIRECT EXPRESS (Y):

b. MBR

The MBR reflects RTN-680000048 DAN-CP123456789.