The state is moving forward with the adoption of chip and tap-enabled Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to enhance security measures, and Franklin County food retailers are readying their software for the upgrades needed to accommodate the change.
Matthew Deane, president of Foster’s Supermarket in Greenfield, said the 85-year-old store underwent point-of-sale upgrades about four weeks ago in preparation.
“It was a little struggle. It wasn’t a one-day thing. It took them four or five days to get it squared away,” he said, adding that the upgrades were administered by Foster’s Connecticut-based information technology vendor. “We are good to go right now.”
Deane said roughly 15% of Foster’s business comes from EBT transactions. He said the supermarket’s cash registers and PIN pads are not any different for users than they were before the software upgrades.
The state recently announced that its Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) will begin piloting chip and tap-enabled EBT cards later this year in an effort to better prevent theft across the system, including for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Benefit theft occurs when eligible clients have their benefits stolen through criminal activity. According to the state, the most common method of benefit theft is installing card skimmers on point-of-sale devices to steal the card information from the card’s magnetic stripe. Criminals then use the card information to make fraudulent purchases, leaving zero balances for clients.
“This should make a huge difference,” Deane said about the chip cards. “You can’t skim these.”
Greenfield also has a Stop & Shop supermarket at 89 French King Highway, and the corporate office issued a statement that the chain welcomes SNAP/EBT customers who have received their new Massachusetts chip cards.
“Customers will be able to use their new SNAP cards as a form of payment at Stop & Shop when shopping in-store and online with our Pickup and Home Delivery services,” the emailed statement reads.
The front door of the Sandri gas station and convenience store at 416 Federal St. in Greenfield, one of 15 the Sandri Companies owns in three states, has a sign informing customers that the location has been unable to accept SNAP/EBT/ benefits since April 1. But Wendy Van Epps, the company’s executive vice president, clarified that this is the result of an administrative error and not the impending switch to chip cards.
She explained a federal application deadline was missed “by mere hours,” resulting in a temporary inability to accept the government-issued cards. But she said every effort is being made remedy the problem.
“We hope to be back online very shortly,” she said.
Van Epps, whose grandfather founded the company in 1931, said she is an enormous supporter of SNAP/EBT.
“It’s so important,” she said.
Andrew Hernandez, store manager of Green Fields Market, said the Franklin Community Co-op (which also operates McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls) has not yet made the transition to the new technology, but the store’s IT manager has assured him the upgrades can be made when the time comes.
Hernandez said he looks forward to having a type of card that cuts down on benefit theft, which victimizes customers that are often struggling to make ends meet as it is.
Greenfield Police Chief Todd Dodge said card skimming is not a particularly big problem in his small city, but chip cards will likely reduce any theft that might occur. He also said he feels chip cards are simply a quicker, more convenient payment method.
According to the state, SNAP fraud is extremely rare — less than 1% of the SNAP caseload has been found to have committed fraud.
Massachusetts chip and tap-enabled EBT cards will contain a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) microchip and other technology that is much more secure than a traditional magnetic stripe card. Reportedly, for every transaction, the microchip generates a unique code that must be verified by the EBT system before the transaction will be authorized.
“Massachusetts is taking action to protect families and the programs they rely on to afford groceries and other essential goods,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “These new chip-enabled EBT cards will strengthen protections against theft and make sure this support is going to the people who need it. We’re one of the first states in the nation to adopt this new technology because protecting taxpayer dollars is a top priority for us, and we thank retailers and clients in advance for working with us to implement this.”
The state Department of Transitional Assistance operates a fraud hotline via phone and email inbox where anyone can submit a referral for investigation. The DTA also actively partners with the Bureau of Special Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General on program integrity initiatives.
Anyone can report fraud to the DTA online at tinyurl.com/ReportBenefitFraud, by sending an email to DTA.ReportFraud@MassMail.State.MA.US or by calling the DTA’s Fraud Hotline at 800-372-8399.
