EBT overview
EBT cards are issued by each US state. All EBT cards are magstripe only, function like a debit card, and always require a PIN. The entire EBT system must be online in order to process an EBT transaction.
Types of EBT programs
-
EBT Food (also called SNAP) accounts have the following characteristics:
- Cardholders can use EBT Food to pay for qualifying food purchases and check their account balance.
- Swiped and manual card entry are supported.
- Merchants can process a refund to a cardholder's EBT Food account. Refunds in cash are not permitted.
- Cash back is not permitted.
- If the EBT system is down at the time of purchase, Clover does not provide a way for the merchant to complete and record the transaction using a manual voucher.
- Clover must manually enable the EBT Food benefit for a sandbox merchant.
-
EBT Cash accounts have the following characteristics:
- Cardholders can use EBT Cash to pay for merchandise and check their account balance.
- Swiped card entry is supported; manual card entry is not supported.
- Merchants can make refunds in cash or store credit (including merchant gift cards). Refunds cannot be made directly to the EBT Cash account.
- Cash back with a purchase and cash withdrawals are not currently supported by Clover.
Updated about 1 year ago
Did this page help you?