[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2475-2477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00638]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA 2021-0051]
Notice of Open Enrollment and Fee Increase for Our Electronic
Consent Based Social Security Number Verification Service
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice of open enrollment; fee increase.
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SUMMARY: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is announcing open
enrollment and a change in the subscription tier structure and
associated fees for the electronic Consent Based Social Security Number
(SSN) Verification (eCBSV) service. SSA will open eCBSV enrollment in
Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, to interested permitted entities (PEs), as
defined in section 215 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and
Consumer Protection Act (i.e., the Banking Bill). The open enrollment
period for PEs will begin on February 21, 2022 and remain open
indefinitely. In accordance with statutory requirements, PEs will be
[[Page 2476]]
required to provide payment to reimburse SSA for the development and
support of the eCBSV system.
DATES:
Applicability date for open enrollment: Open eCBSV enrollment for
PEs will commence February 21, 2022, at 6:00 a.m. EST.
Applicability date for fee increase: The revised subscription tier
structure and associated fees will go into effect for subscription
payments made on or after April 25, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher David, Office of Data
Exchange, Policy Publications, and International Negotiations, Social
Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland
21235-6401, (866) 395-8801, email [email protected].
For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call SSA's
national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or
visit SSA's internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 215 of the Banking Bill directs SSA
to modify or develop a database for accepting and comparing fraud
protection data \1\ provided electronically by a PE.\2\ In response to
this statutory directive, SSA created eCBSV, a fee-based SSN
verification service. eCBSV allows PEs to submit, after receipt of the
number holder's consent,\3\ the SSN, name, and date of birth of the
number holder to SSA for verification via an application programming
interface. Each PE must submit a statement that the PE is in compliance
with the Banking Bill \4\ in the comment section of their application
to SSA.
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\1\ The Banking Bill defines ``fraud protection data'' to mean a
combination of an individual's name (including the first name and
any family forename or surname), SSN, and date of birth (including
month, day, and year). Public Law 115-174, Title II, 215(b)(3),
codified at 42 U.S.C. 405b(b)(3).
\2\ The Banking Bill defines a ``permitted entity'' to mean a
financial institution or service provider, subsidiary, affiliate,
agent, subcontractor, or assignee of a financial institution. Public
Law 115-174, Title II, 215(b)(4), codified at 42 U.S.C. 405b(b)(4).
\3\ Valid, signed consent must include a wet or electronic
signature. Electronic signatures must meet the definition in section
106 of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
(15 U.S.C. 7006) and SSA requirements. 42 U.S.C. 405b(f)(2). The
written consent must clearly specify to whom the information may be
disclosed, the information you want us to disclose (i.e., SSN
verification) and, where applicable, during which timeframe the
information may be disclosed (i.e., within either the time specified
on the Written Consent, or within 90 calendar days from the date the
SSN holder signs the Written Consent). See 20 CFR 401.100(b).
\4\ The permitted entity must certify that (1) the entity is a
permitted entity; (2) the entity is in compliance with section 215;
(3) the entity is, and will remain, in compliance with its privacy
and data security requirements in Title V of 15 U.S.C. 6801, et
seq., with respect to the information the entity receives from the
Commissioner of Social Security pursuant to this section; and (4)
the entity will retain sufficient records to demonstrate its
compliance with its certification and section 215 for a period of
not less than 2 years. 42 U.S.C. 405b(e)(1)-(3).
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Enrollment
SSA successfully implemented the eCBSV expanded rollout in FY 2021
to the remaining PEs that had previously submitted a valid application
but were not selected as part of the limited initial rollout. eCBSV
expanded rollout participation remains markedly lower than estimated by
the financial industry and will result in increased fees to recover
program costs incurred, as required by the Banking Bill.
To encourage increased program participation, SSA will open eCBSV
enrollment in February 2022, to interested PEs, as defined in section
215 of the Banking Bill. The enrollment period to register for this
service will open on February 21, 2022, at 6:00 a.m. EST, and will
remain open indefinitely. After a thorough analysis, we determined that
establishing an open-ended enrollment satisfies the requirements of the
Banking Bill, helps increase program participation and transaction
volumes, and aids in recovering costs. Additionally, opening the
program to interested PEs starting February 21, 2022, provides new PEs
with the flexibility to enroll at current subscription rates before the
fee increase takes effect on April 25, 2022.
PEs who wish to enroll, must:
Complete the technical registration requirements
use the eCBSV ``Permitted Entity Registration'' screen to
provide company information
electronically sign an EIN Consent
receive their OAuth Client ID from SSA
configure requesting application to access the eCBSV Customer
Connection and provide contact information
review, agree, and electronically sign the Permitted Entity
Certification
review, agree, initial to all terms and conditions, and
electronically sign the user agreement
purchase the tier subscription based on expected transaction
volume
Fees
The public cost burden is dependent upon the number of PEs using
the service and the annual transaction volume. To date, 11 PEs enrolled
out of 123 applications received to participate in eCBSV. We based the
revised tier fee schedule below on 45 participating PEs in FY 2022
submitting an anticipated volume of 280,000,000 transactions. The total
cost for developing the service is $50,000,000 through FY 2021, and SSA
will recover the cost over a three-year period, assuming projected
enrollments and transaction volumes meet our projections.
eCBSV Tier Fee Schedule
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Tier Annual volume threshold Annual fee
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1.............................. Up to 1,000 (1-1,000).. $400
2.............................. Up to 10,000 (1,001- 3,500
10,000).
3.............................. Up to 200,000 (10,001- 40,000
200,000).
4.............................. Up to 1 million 315,000
(200,001-1 million).
5.............................. Up to 20 million 1,500,000
(1,000,001-20 million).
6.............................. Up to 50 million 4,000,000
(20,000,001-50
million).
7.............................. Over 50 million 7,500,000
(50,000,001 and over).
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Each enrolled PE will be required to remit the above tier-based
subscription fee for the 365-day agreement period starting on or after
April 25, 2022. Fees are calculated based on forecasted systems and
operational expenses, agency oversight, overhead, and Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) audit contract costs. Effective April 25, 2022, SSA
will no longer charge a separate administrative fee in addition to the
tier-based subscription fee.
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Section 215(h)(1)(A) of the Banking Bill requires that the
Commissioner shall ``periodically adjust'' the price paid by users. On
at least an annual basis, SSA will monitor costs incurred to provide
eCBSV services and will revise the tier fee schedule accordingly. We
will notify PEs of the tier fee schedule in effect at the renewal of
eCBSV user agreements, and via notice in the Federal Register. At that
time, PEs can cancel the agreement or renew service according to the
new tier fee schedule.
Michelle King,
Deputy Commissioner, for Budget, Finance, and Management.
[FR Doc. 2022-00638 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P