Metro 2 Account Type Code 20: Note Loan

Specification

Code	20
Meaning	Note Loan
Field	Account Type (Field 15)
Record	Base Segment
Length / position	2 chars · 84–85
Category	Consumer Installment Loans
CRRG reference	CRRG Exhibits 1 & 2 (Account Type Codes)

A general installment code for note-evidenced lending that is not a personal signature loan, an auto loan, or a purchase contract.
Frequently seen on single-payment notes and short-term demand paper carried in the consumer file.
Does NOT mean the loan is unsecured. Collateral, if any, is described by choosing 02 or 03 instead when those fit better.
Does NOT mean a promissory note that has been sold or discounted. Ownership changes are expressed through the K1 and K2 segments, not the account type.
Reach for a more specific code first. A tradeline that says only note loan tells a downstream lender very little about the obligation, and a portfolio where most accounts land on 20 usually has a product-mapping gap rather than an unusual product mix.

1A community bank reports a single-payment note due in 90 days, carried in the borrower's name.
2A lender reports a demand note used as short-term bridge financing.
3A credit union reports a note-evidenced advance that does not fit any of the specific consumer product codes.
4A lender reports a renewal note replacing a matured obligation, opening a new tradeline for the renewal.
5A bank reports an interest-only note with a balloon principal payment at maturity, where the scheduled payment and the payoff differ sharply.

Use a more specific code when one applies. 20 is a residual, not a convenience.
Match Terms Frequency to the actual repayment pattern. A single-payment note reported as monthly misstates the obligation and distorts delinquency logic.
Report the principal advanced in Highest Credit and leave Credit Limit zero-filled.
Open a new tradeline for a renewal note rather than extending the maturity of the old one indefinitely.
Do not use 20 as a landing zone for accounts your mapping logic could not classify. That converts a mapping gap into a permanent accuracy problem.

A file can be structurally valid and still be wrong. These are the cross-field conditions Account Type Code 20 has to satisfy.

Portfolio Type must be I (Installment), which requires Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount and a numeric Terms Duration in months.
On a single-payment note, Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount must still be populated for Portfolio Type I. Report an amount consistent with the reported Terms Frequency rather than leaving it zero.
Terms Frequency should reflect reality: P (Single Payment) and other non-monthly frequencies are legitimate here and are what distinguish a note loan from a standard amortizing loan.
Credit Limit must be zero-filled.
The K3 segment is absent. A note secured by real estate belongs under a mortgage code.
If the note is sold, the buyer carries the K1 segment naming you as original creditor.