IAT format for US SS Direct Deposits

[fittobethaied]

Last week I wrote Bangkok Bank, New York to try to resolve all the confusion over their recent announcement by customer letter and their website that they will soon begin to require all US Social Security direct deposits to be processed with an IAT (International ACH Transaction) code.

For those of you who are affected by this, please read the following response which I received this morning, and pay particular attention to the sentence that is highlighted in red. I will comment further at the end of this post:

Dear Mr. XXXXX:

Firstly, I apologize for the delay of our response. I believe the website may have some typo and may confuse the customer. We will contact our Head Office to revise the content as deem appropriated.

As per NACHA rules, New York Branch as an intermediary bank should process the payment which come in as an International ACH (IAT) format as the final beneficiary’s account is in Thailand, therefore, the remitter of the payment in the U.S. is required to obtain certain additional types of information from you in order to send these payments in a proper international format through us. This means that you need to inform the remitter which in this case the U.S. government that your account is in Thailand and provide certain identifying information, including the following:

1. Your name and physical address in Thailand;

2. Your bank account number and the name and address of Bangkok Bank in Thailand which you may use the address of our Head Office at 333 Silom Road, Bangkok, Thailand as all payments will be routed and process there.

3. The routing number of Bangkok Bank New York Branch, which acts as intermediary in the transaction.

Since late September we’ve sent the Notification of change to the U.S. government for all transactions that come in as a non-IAT format so they can make the change in the format. We hope that our approach will assist in correcting the issues, however, we have seen that approximately 80% of the Social Security beneficiaries already have their payment in the correct format, therefore, if you provide the account name that you are receiving the direct deposit and approximately date of your last payment, I can check whether yours transaction is already in the correct format so you may not need to do anything.

Meanwhile, please visit Social Security website to update your address or information of your account at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/what.html as the form that the local branch has may not be an appropriated form to change the address and account information.

Thank you for using our bank.

Best regards,

Sirivan Chuaypradit

Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited
29 Broadway, 19th Floor,
New York, N.Y. 10006
Tel: (212) 329-9201


If you are interested in communicating directly with Khun Sirivan Chuaypradit in New York, then you can reference this email and send her your name as it appears on your account and the date of your last SS deposit and she can check to see if your SS direct deposit is already in the IAT format. If so, you have nothing more to worry about. If not then you can go into your local Bangkok Bank branch and fill out a new form for them to forward to Social Security which will have all the information that they will require to get your direct deposit into the IAT format. Or, you can go into your account online and make necessary changes there. Email her at [email protected]

Hope this helps!

 

 

[ubonjoe]

This bump this topic to the first page.

I recalled this topic being posted so went back about 4 pages to find it. I have sent an email to the address above and will let you know what response I get.

[Pib]

Just call HQ Bangkok Bank in Bangkok per their 1 Oct 18 letter below.    During the call you will need to provide your full name, account number,  and approx date and amount of last payment.   Be sure they look up your "specific payment"....don't accept a possible answer that most/all payments are being received in IAT format---be sure they look up your specific payment.   

 

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

Just call HQ Bangkok Bank in Bangkok per their 1 Oct 18 letter below.   

I have a copy of that letter you posted before. I have not been able to get one from the branch here yet. I just checked and I have the same phone number as a contact on my phone that I saved in 2012 when I was sorting out my direct deposit account.

I decided to give the email a try to see if I get a response.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I have a copy of that letter you posted before. I have not been able to get one from the branch here yet. I just checked and I have the same phone number as a contact on my phone that I saved in 2012 when I was sorting out my direct deposit account.

I decided to give the email a try to see if I get a response.

Yeap....the number(s) on the HQ Bangkok Bank 1 Oct 18 is to the section that handles direct deposit sign-ups/issues for a long, long time.....and is eye-ball deep into the current issue.   This section is on the second floor of the building right above the branch on the first floor.  Just call the number(s) on the letter during Mon-Fri business hours....maybe even ask to talk to Mrs Supatra who speaks English just fine....I've had several face-to-face conversations with her....very nice lady....you might get lucky and she'll be the one to answer the phone.   

 

Just be sure to stress you want them lookup your "specific payment" in case they possibly start off by saying "most/all" payments are received in IAT format.  Hopefully you are in the most/all category.   Unfortunately, my family member SSA payment (and the member has a Thailand address on file with SSA from day 1 of pension application) is not in that "most/all" category and the payment is being sent/received in PPD format which will be rejected effective Apr 19. 

 

I have sent a letter to Baltimore in mid December (and I confirmed receipt via telecon earlier this week) asking the payment be changed to IAT format.  I included a copy of the HQ Bangkok Bank memo.   I hope it works but probably will not know until the 3 Feb 19 payment since I don't think Baltimore is going to act (if they are going to act) on the request before the 3 Jan 19 payment. 

 

I say "if they act" because the letter just identifies the problem, talks a little that if it's an address issue here is the member's Thailand address again and Thailand address of the bank, asks for IAT format, "but there is no change in routing number or account number."  Even attached a new Direct Deposit signup form with Bangkok Bank's "Bangkok address" versus the New York branch address....and of course the form has the member's Thailand address. 

 

I have a fear that the Baltimore SSA person might just blow-off the letter since there is no change in routing number and/or account number....might figure it's just some old person confused about something which means the payment will not get updated to IAT format.  Or the SSA person will see the IDD program will soon be active for Thailand and not make an update figuring the person can just sign up for IDD to fix the issues before Apr 19.   Will have to wait and see what they do....but at least I know I have taken ever possible action to fix the payment format problem.

 

Didn't send the letter to Manila because I have little faith in them doing anything other than waiting for the IDD program to go active for Thailand in early 2019...plus their earlier responses (a few months ago) on the issue were of no help....they seemed kinda clueless on the issue when asking for a format change to IAT.  And a more recent response (in Dec) talked the IDD in the near future.  I'm under-impressed with Manila.  Plus Manila would probably just have to relay the letter to Baltimore for action.  Manila would just be a middle man delay.

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

On 12/22/2018 at 2:38 PM, ubonjoe said:

I decided to give the email a try to see if I get a response.

I received a reply last night wich was the their first working day since I sent the email.

Quote

As checked, your payment from Social Security was already in an IAT format so you don’t need to do anything.

So I have nothing to worry about now.

[Pib]

Contacted the Bangkok Bank New York branch email address regarding family member's SS payment format.   Gave info to check on the last two payments.  Response below confirms what I already knew from several face-to-face contacts with the in-Thailand point of contact on the 1 Oct 18 HQ Bangkok Bank letter several posts up.   Summary: my family member's payment is "not" arriving in IAT format.  And as mentioned in earlier post the member has a Thailand address on file with SSA.

 

And as you'll see Bangkok Bank New York is notifying SSA of payments not rec'd in IAT format in an attempt to get the format corrected to IAT (not to imply that contact will "definitely" result in correction to IAT format...I would also contact SSA personally about the problem which I did in writing in mid December).

 

Quote

As checked, both of your payments are not in an IAT format yet, however, please be advised that since late September our New York Branch have sent the Notification of change to the U.S. government for all transactions that come in as a non-IAT format so they can make the change in the format.  Our Head Office also contacting Social Security Office in Manila on this matter.  We hope that our approach will assist in correcting the issues.  Meanwhile, please visit Social Security website to update your address or information of your account at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/what.html .  

 

[SailingHome]

Ummm... and if our checks are not currently being sent to Thailand what do we do?