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CIWC Home > Community Education > Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)

What is Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT?

Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT, is the new system that food stamp recipients in California will use to access their food stamp benefits. A majority of California counties will also use EBT to distribute CalWORKs benefits. Some counties will also use EBT for General Assistance/General Relief (GA/GR), Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) benefits.

Under the new EBT system, instead of receiving monthly food stamp coupons or welfare checks, recipients will be issued a plastic debit-like card which they will use to pay for groceries and in some counties, to get cash benefits. California's EBT system is being implemented at different times, county by county, through the end of 2004. An updated implementation schedule can be found at the State's EBT Project Web site, www.ebtproject.ca.gov.

How does EBT work?

People who qualify for food stamps, and some cash benefits, will receive a plastic card (called the "Golden State Advantage Card") and a personal identification number (PIN). Food stamp recipients will be able to use their benefits to buy groceries by swiping their EBT card and entering their private PIN number at point-of-sale (POS) machines located at grocery checkout counters and other locations. If a county distributes cash aid through EBT, cash benefits will be available through many Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and POS locations. Cash purchases can also be made using the card. Unused benefits from one month will be rolled over to the next month and each transaction record should show the remaining balance(s).

One EBT card will be used for both food stamps and cash aid (if applicable). Each month, the amount of food stamps or cash aid will be automatically added to the recipient's account. Please note that EBT recipients will receive their benefits either the first, second or third day of the month, depending on their case number (this is known as "staggering"). Recipients will use the same EBT card each month, so it is important that they take care of the card and keep it in a safe place. PIN numbers should be kept private to avoid theft.

Will clients be able to use their EBT cards at small ethnic groceries or retail stores?

Businesses already certified by the USDA Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) to accept food stamps will be able to sign up for EBT with Citicorp (the State's contractor for EBT services). Locations that are not currently authorized to accept food stamps could also accept EBT if they first become FNS-certified by contacting a USDA office in California. Then they must sign up with Citicorp to participate in the EBT system. Although Citicorp is supposed to outreach to ethnic businesses in order to make EBT widely available where immigrants shop, experience in counties where EBT is already being used shows that counties and communities will need to do additional outreach to ethnic businesses.

Will EBT users have to pay a fee to get access to their food stamp or cash benefits under the EBT system?

Federal law prohibits any charges for using EBT for food stamp benefits, however, recipients may have to pay surcharges at ATM or POS machines when they withdraw cash benefits. Typical POS or ATM charges are between $1 and $2 per transaction. People can avoid these charges by using only surcharge-free ATMs or POS machines. Unfortunately, these can be hard to find in some neighborhoods. Among the banks that offer surcharge-free ATMs are Citibank, Cal Fed, and Washington Mutual. In addition to these possible surcharges, recipients must pay $0.85 fee per transaction if they make more than four "cash only" withdrawals during one month. A "transaction fee" of $0.25 will also be charged at ATMs for balance inquiries. To obtain an updated balance for free, recipients can call the toll free, multilingual Citicorp Helpline (1-877-328-9677).

Will the POS machines and ATMs used by recipients be available in languages other than English?

Some ATMs already use languages other than English, however, neither ATMs nor POS machines will be modified for the EBT system. Recipients who are limited English-proficient (LEP) may find it difficult to locate ATMs that provide services in their own languages.

Can EBT users get help in a language other than English if they have a question, or a problem using their EBT card?

The Citicorp Helpline's 24-hour, toll free number (1-877-328-9677) will offer help with EBT in 11 languages using an Automated Response Unit (ARU), where prerecorded responses to common questions will be available. The languages are: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Eastern Armenian, Cambodian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hmong, Russian, Lao, and Farsi. Besides the ARU:

• English and Spanish speakers will be able to connect to a live Customer Service Representative, (CSR) 24-hrs per day.
• Cantonese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Russian speakers can be assisted by a live CSR from 7:00 am - 9:00 pm daily.

Hmong, Lao, Farsi, Mandarin and Eastern Armenian speakers will only be able to obtain help through the Automated Response Unit. All LEP clients who speak a language other than those listed above will be able to use the Citicorp Helpline, but will need to find their own interpreter.

What happens if an EBT card is lost or stolen?

If a card is lost or stolen, it is extremely important that the cardholder call the 24-hour Citicorp Helpline number, 1-877-328-9677, as soon as possible to deactivate his or her card. The card will be replaced with a new one. Benefits stolen prior to the client reporting the card lost or stolen will not be replaced. To deactivate a card, English and Spanish speaking clients will be able to speak to a Customer Service Representative (CSR) provided by the Citicorp Helpline. Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Russian, Hmong, Lao, Farsi, and Eastern Armenian speaking clients will be assisted by Language Line interpreters to deactivate cards with Citicorp. Clients who do not speak any of the 11 languages supported by the EBT system will need to find their own interpreter in order to use the Citicorp Helpline to report a lost or stolen card.

Will the information supplied by a recipient for the EBT system be shared with the INS or any other government agency?

In general, information on immigration status provided for the Food Stamp Program or CalWORKs is used only to determine eligibility for benefits. This information is not shared with the INS or other government agencies for other purposes unless fraud or a criminal violation has occurred. The EBT account does not require any information beyond that which is already provided to the benefit agencies by recipients for the benefit program.

Are all recipients required to use EBT or can an individual "opt out?"

In the case of food stamps, a recipient cannot opt out of the EBT system. However, he or she can appoint an Authorized Representative to obtain benefits. Recipients can be exempted from using EBT for cash aid due to hardship. To be exempted from EBT for cash benefits, a recipient must have a permanent or temporary physical or mental condition or other barrier that makes them unable to "successfully" use EBT. If the exemption is granted, the recipient will continue to receive a check. Exemption decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis at the county's welfare office. In most counties, recipients with bank accounts can choose to have their cash benefits directly deposited into their bank account.

How will recipients know that this change is being made to their food stamp or other benefits? Will they be trained to use the new EBT system?

Counties will either ask recipients to come into the welfare office to pick up their cards and receive training, or they will mail out the cards and training materials to recipients. The State is providing counties with materials in English, Spanish, Hmong, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian, Russian, Farsi, and Eastern Armenian. However, counties will have to decide whether to translate these materials into additional languages in order to serve their particular client populations.

If a client has food stamp coupons remaining from an earlier benefit grant, he or she can still use them. Retailers are required to accept food stamp coupons during the transition to EBT until the USDA advises them that they can stop.

For more information about EBT, see "An Advocate's Guide to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) in California," written by Jessica Bartholow of the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Debra Garcia of Consumers Union. Copies of the guide can be obtained at www.consumersunion.org. CIWC would like to thank Debra Garcia and Jessica Bartholow for their assistance.

For more information, please call:

• Dennis Kao, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, (213) 977-7500 Ext. 215; or
• Isabel Alegria, California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative, (510) 663-8282 Ext. 302.

 

California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative, March 2003.

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