The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), National Grocers Association (NGA) and other food industry groups sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committees calling on Congress to protect customers and retailers by prohibiting additional fees from being levied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefit transfer (EBT) transactions.
More than 1,000 food retailers of all sizes serving millions of SNAP participants every day, and state, regional and national associations representing tens of thousands of SNAP authorized retailers across the country, signed the letter.
The letter requests that the bipartisan Ensuring Fee-Free Benefit Transactions (EBT) Act be enacted in a multi-year farm bill or other legislation this year to permanently prohibit states and state contractors from levying processing and other related fees from a state’s side of a SNAP EBT transaction onto SNAP authorized retailers and their merchant processors.
The bipartisan EBT Act (H.R. 4158) was introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Tony Wied (R-Wisconsin), members of the House Agriculture Committee.
“SNAP authorized retailers are committed to strengthening the integrity and viability of the program for millions of Americans in every community. Retailers invest significant resources to participate in SNAP, including bearing the cost of equipment updates, software, training for store associates, and processing fees and other costs from retailers’ side of a SNAP EBT transaction. SNAP retailers should not then be assessed processing fees on top of these costs from a state’s side of a SNAP EBT transaction,” said Christine Pollack, vice president of government relations for the Food Industry Association (FMI).
“For years, independent grocers have operated under only temporary assurances that they wouldn’t be burdened by fees on SNAP transactions,” said Stephanie Johnson, group vice president of government relations at NGA. “Congress’s intent has always been clear: retailers should not be charged fees to accept SNAP payments in order to create the greatest possible access for families in need. Now is the time for a permanent solution. Community grocers are proud to serve their neighbors with fresh, healthy food, and with the EBT Act, they can continue doing so without the threat of burdensome fees.”
“Congress must act quickly to pass the EBT Act and give retailers the certainty they need to keep serving SNAP families without added costs,” said Margaret Mannion, NACS director of government relations. “Processing fees on EBT transactions have long been prohibited and reversing that protection would hand windfall profits to payment processors while driving up the cost of food.”
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