TN 31 (01-08)

A. Process

1. Payment Date - Regular Monthly Payments

Approximately 6 business days before the scheduled payment date for recurring monthly payments, SSA sends a file containing all foreign direct deposit payments to Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC), by way of the Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Services (FMS).

2. Payment Date - IDD PMA Payments

Prior month accrual (PMA) payments are sent to FRBKC (through FMS) on a flow basis one workday after the input. The payment is sent on the date of the action as displayed on Payment History Update System (PHUS).

The payment date will be 4 workdays later. Therefore, it is safe to tell IDD beneficiaries that a PMA payment will have a payment date approximately 5 workdays after the input to release the payment, or 4 workdays from the date on the PHUS, if it has already been input.

EXCEPTION: If a PMA payment on PHUS is dated after the close of COM but before the next month, it may include the payment for that month and therefore cannot by law be dated earlier than the first day of the following month. For example, a payment on PHUS dated 3/22/05 (the day after the End of COM for March) would have a payment date of 4/1/05, the first workday in the following month, even though this is 8 workdays from the date on PHUS.

The rule regarding 4 workdays continues, so as soon as there are fewer than 4 workdays between the date on the PHUS and the first workday of the following month, the payment date moves to the date 4 workdays from the release date.

a. Example 1

An IDD PMA payment is released on 3/10/05. The payment date is 4 workdays from then, 3/16/05.

b. Example 2

An IDD payment has a PHUS date of 3/22/05, the day after the END of COM for March. The payment must be paid in April. It is at least 4 workdays until 4/1/05, so that is the payment date. This is also the payment date for IDD PMA payments released on 3/23/05 through 3/28/05.

c. Example 3

An IDD PMA payment is released on 3/29/05. Four workdays from that date is 4/4/05, which is the correct payment date.

3. Date Payment Available in Beneficiary's Account

In most countries the payment will be available on the payment date (also known as the settlement date). However, for some countries the banking rules vary, so an IDD payment is not available in the account until one or more days after the payment date.

a. Example 1

Information for a beneficiary in Canada is keyed on March 11, 2005. A PMA payment is released with a date of March 14 on the PHUS. The payment date is March 18, and the payment will be in the beneficiary's account on March 18.

b. Example 2

The PHUS shows that the initial payment for a beneficiary in Grenada was released March 15, 2005. The payment date is March 21. The payment should be in the beneficiary's account on March 22 (one day after the payment date).

4. Separating the Payments by Countries

FRBKC separates the payments by contractor bank, based on the two-digit RTN prefix and the DAN multi-country code (if applicable). FRBKC formats each file to comply with the contract requirements. (For prefix and multi-country codes, see GN 02402.220B.)

5. Currency Conversion

IDD for some countries is in U.S. dollars. For Mexico and countries included in multi-country contracts that receive IDD in local currency, FRBKC transmits the files to the processor banks, where the currency rate of exchange is established. For local currency payments to other countries, FRBKC establishes the currency rates of exchange before transmitting the files.

6. Payment Displays

FRBKC displays the current and historical payment information on IDD.gov, which is on a secure Treasury website. This includes the payee name, claim number, payment date, amount, and trace number. For countries for which FRBKC does the currency conversion, IDD.gov shows the payment amounts in both U.S. dollars and the local currency.

FRBKC no longer produces copies of payment files, either electronically or on paper.

7. Forwarding the Payment Files

Approximately 1-4 business days before the scheduled payment date, FRBKC forwards the payment files to the processing facilities that send the payments through the foreign ACH systems.

B. Process - Payment Information on ITS.gov

Any recurring payment processed and sent by FRBKC since January 2002 can be viewed on the ITS.gov site by those with security access. If the payment was converted to foreign currency at FRBKC, both the U.S. dollar (USD) amount and the foreign amount are listed.

1. Example 1

Payments to Germany are converted to euros at FRBKC. Both the USD and the euro amount are shown on ITS.gov.

2. Example 2

Payments to Grenada are made in East Caribbean Dollars, but the conversion is done after the file arrives at the processor bank. The USD amount is shown in both the Payment Dollar Amount and Payment Foreign Amount columns.

3. Example 3

Payments can be sent to Canada in either U.S. dollars (USD) or Canadian dollars (CAD), and the conversion to CAD (if applicable) is done at FRBKC. A CAD payment to Canada shows both USD and CAD amounts. A USD payment to Canada shows the USD amount under both headings.