TN 223 (10-22) Show
A. IntroductionThe contract for Canadian International Direct Deposit (IDD) allows IDD to either Canadian or U.S. dollar accounts at Canadian financial institutions. Although it is convenient for many Canadian beneficiaries to receive their benefits in Canadian dollars, others prefer to receive their benefits in U.S. dollars. There are three types of coding to accounts in Canadian FIs; it is important to know exactly which coding to use. Understanding the coding also helps you identify where the payments are going if a problem occurs. NOTE: U.S. domestic (i.e., non-border) field offices (FOs) should not attempt to process an IDD request for this country. U.S. domestic FOs must forward all appropriate information to the Office of Earnings and International Operations, Division of International Operations (OEIO, DIO) for processing (For more information on forwarding IDD information, see GN 02402.205C, GN 01010.255, and GN 01702.310C). 1. Canadian Dollar AccountsThis is the traditional IDD to Canada. Benefits are converted to Canadian dollars by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) at an excellent rate a few days before the payment date. The prefix for the routing and transit number (RTN) is 51. The procedure for coding IDD to Canadian dollar accounts in Canada is at GN 02402.300D. 2. U.S. Dollar Accounts (Other than Royal Bank of Canada)This choice allows a beneficiary to receive the exact amount of the benefits in U.S. dollars at the beneficiary's U.S. dollar account in Canada. The prefix for the RTN is 62. If IDD to U.S. dollar accounts in Canada is erroneously coded with prefix 51, the payments reject and are returned to SSA. The procedure for coding IDD to U.S. dollar accounts at FIs in Canada is at GN 02402.300E. 3. U.S. Dollar Accounts at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)If the beneficiary's U.S. dollar account is at RBC in Canada, special coding allows SSA to send the benefits in U.S. dollars through RBC's branch in New York, Routing and Transit Number (RTN) 026004093. RBC set up this branch, which does not itself have accounts, to move direct deposit payments to the correct branch and account in Canada. Because this is a U.S. bank, no special prefix is needed. In the Depositor Account Number field, the coder keys the 5-digit branch number and the 7-digit account number. Because this is treated as U.S. direct deposit, Treasury processes any nonreceipt or reclamation actions for these payments. The FO/TSC/PC follows the same procedures as for any U.S. direct deposit nonreceipt, or payment after death. No forms are sent to FRBKC for these actions. These actions by Treasury reduce the workload for SSA. Therefore, this is the preferred method of coding U.S. dollar accounts at RBC. The procedure for coding IDD to U.S. dollar accounts at RBC in Canada is at GN 02402.300F. B. Description - Source of the Bank InformationThe data for coding may come from a check, a signup form for Canada (see GN 02402.300G.), or the equivalent information received by mail, phone, fax, or E-mail. If the interviewer does not have access to a check or a signup form completed by the FI when the beneficiary makes a request for direct deposit by phone, the interviewer should ask the beneficiary to read all the numbers from the bottom of the check (the MICR line). The interviewer should also ask for the check serial number at top right. This information is also included at the bottom of the check, so knowing the check number makes it easier to determine the actual bank data. For U.S. dollar accounts, the actual account number may be in small print above the words “PAY TO THE ORDER OF.” For a U.S. dollar account at a Caisse Populaire, the number may be in rather small print toward the upper right. When using a Canadian Payments Association Directory to find the bank data, the coder must use the information from the second column (“MICR Encoded No.”), not the first column (“Direct Payment Routing No.”). The beneficiary may have a Pre-Authorization Statement from the FI. This gives the full information. C. Description of Canadian Bank DataFollowing is a description of the bank data for Canadian dollar accounts. 1. MICR Line on a Check
EXCEPTION 1: The dash before the 7th digit must be coded for a Caisse Populaire account at institution # 815 or 829. All seven digits are shown in the MICR line, but the numbers at the top of the check contain the account (“folio”) number followed by the check serial number (check number 14, for example). The beneficiary usually knows only the portion of the account number (folio) that is shown at the top of the check. This information contains no lead zeros and no check digit (the seventh digit). To make sure the beneficiary provides complete information during a phone interview, the interviewer should ask the beneficiary to read first the full MICR line and then the numbers at top right EXCEPTION 2: The dash before the 6th (next to last) digit, which is always a 2, must be coded for a Caisse Populaire at institution #865. NOTE: The account number in the MICR line (following the institution number) may include all or a portion of the branch number at certain banks. If so, this must be included in the account number coding. 2. Signup Form for CanadaThe completed Canadian signup form contains the branch code, institution code, and account number. It also tells whether this is a Canadian or U.S. dollar account. See GN 02402.300G. for an exhibit of the signup form. NOTE: No P.O. box addresses are allowed when enrolling individuals in IDD for Canada. 3. Bank Data CharacteristicsThe information in this section is given to help you:
a. U.S. Dollar AccountsThe following table tells how to recognize a U.S. dollar account at some Canadian FIs. U.S. DOLLAR ACCOUNTS AT CANADIAN FIs
b. Other Characteristics of Account NumbersThe following table describes characteristics of account numbers at certain Canadian FIs. Payments sent to these FIs will reject if the account numbers do not have these characteristics. However, many Canadian FIs are changing the format of their account numbers so that all or a portion of the branch number is coded before the actual account number. Information that is given to SSA in this format should be coded as given. OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF CANADIAN ACCOUNT NUMBERS
D. Procedure - Coding Direct Deposit for Canadian Dollar Accounts in CanadaFollow these steps to code direct deposit of Title II benefits to Canadian dollar accounts at FIs in Canada.
EXAMPLE 1: Ms. Canadienne requests direct deposit to her Canadian dollar account at a Caisse Populaire, branch number 12345, institution number 815, account number 123456-7. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City codes her RTN 511234501. (The final digit, 1, is the U.S. check digit for 51123450.) Her DAN is 815123456-7. EXAMPLE 2: Ms. Beneficiary presents a check for her Canadian dollar account with the following information at the bottom of the check: 237 00236-003 156-789-4. The coder sorts the information as follows: Check Number: 237 Branch Code: 00236 Institution Code: 003 Account Number: 156-789-4 The Routing and Transit Number will be: 510023603. (The final digit, 3, is the U.S. check digit for 51002360.) The Depositor Account Number will be: 0031567894. E. Procedure - Coding Direct Deposit for U.S. Dollar Accounts at Banks in Canada Other Than Royal Bank of CanadaFollow these steps to code direct deposit of Title II benefits to U.S. dollar accounts at FIs in Canada, except see Royal Bank of Canada, GN 02402.300F.
EXAMPLE 1: Mr. Client requests direct deposit to his U.S. dollar account at a bank in Canada. The branch code is 54321, the institution number is 004, and the account number is 54327234567. DIO codes the RTN 625432105. (The final digit, 5, is the U.S. check digit for 62543210.) DIO codes the Depositor's Account Number as 00454327234567. EXAMPLE 2: Mr. Benefit requests direct deposit to his U.S. dollar account. His letter gives the name and address of his bank, and his account number, 70-13. The border FO looks up the bank information in the Canadian Payments Association directory and finds that the bank is branch # 42440, bank code 002. For 002, the account number needs 7 or 12 digits, so the FO codes zeroes in front of the given account number to make it 0007013. (The FO does not code the dash.) The RTN is 624244006. The DAN is 0020007013. F. Procedure - Coding Direct Deposit for U.S. Dollar Accounts at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in CanadaFollow these steps to code direct deposit of Title II benefits to U.S. dollar accounts at RBC in Canada. (See GN 02402.300D. if this is a Canadian dollar account at RBC.)
EXAMPLE: Ms. Smith brings a check when she visits an SSA field office to sign up for direct deposit of her SSA benefits to her U.S. dollar account at Royal Bank of Canada. The FO codes the RTN as 026004093. The branch number, which consists of the first 5 digits after the RTN in the MICR line, is 91442. The account number, in very small print above the “PAY TO” line, is 4545678. The FO changes the 9 at the beginning of the branch number to a zero (0) and codes the Depositor Account Number as 014424545678 (the 5 digit branch/transit number followed by the 7 digit account number). G. Exhibit - IDD Enrollment Form for CanadaTo view this form click on: SSA-1199-CN. Is there a bank account linked to my Social Security number?A recent hoax circulating on the internet asserts that the Federal Reserve maintains accounts for individuals that are tied to the individual's Social Security number, and that individuals can access these accounts to pay bills and obtain money. These claims are false.
What are the red numbers on the back of the Social Security card?7. Sequential Control Number. On the rear of a legitimate card there is a sequential control number. The control number is a combination of alpha and numeric that bears no relation to the actual social security number on the card.
How do I find out what bank accounts are in my name?You may be able to find some bank accounts under your name by checking your credit report. However, checking and savings accounts are not reported there. If you have old, inactive accounts, you might be able to find them by searching for unclaimed money.
Does the Federal Reserve have a bank account in my name?Individuals do not have accounts at the Federal Reserve. The bill payments being attempted using the Fed's routing numbers are being rejected and returned unpaid. Consumers who have attempted to use the Fed's routing numbers to pay their bills may be subject to penalty fees from the company they were attempting to pay.
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