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Page | 281 CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ISSUANCE OF BENEFITS 16000 ISSUANCE OF BENEFITS

16100 METHOD OF ISSUANCE FOR SNAP BENEFITS

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received.

EBT is used in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. State SNAP agencies work with contractors to procure their own EBT systems for delivery of SNAP and other state-administered benefit programs. Currently, South Dakota uses the ebtEDGE system.

Once a SNAP applicant has applied, an EBT card is issued when the case is put on the computer system. Once eligibility and level of benefits have been determined, an account is established in the applicant’s name, and supplemental nutrition assistance payment (SNAP) benefits are deposited electronically in the account each month. A plastic card, similar to a bank card, is issued and a personal identification number (PIN) is assigned or chosen by the recipient to give access to the account. Recipients are offered the opportunity to change the PIN number at any time by calling the EBT Card Customer Service Number and is offered ongoing training if they have any problems accessing the system.

EBT creates an electronic record of each transaction performed. This includes transactions made by the customer and deposits of benefits.

16200 EBT PAYROLL & AVAILABILITY

SNAP payroll always runs overnight. If approval of a case is completed on a weekend or holiday, then payroll will run the next working day.

Regular and expedited payrolls are the only payrolls that run on regular payroll night. Regular payroll usually runs the first Friday night of the month, but occasionally it may run earlier in the week depending on when the 10th is. Interim payrolls that are approved on regular payroll date will run the next working day after the regular scheduled payroll.

Example: Applicant applies on September 26th. The case is eligible for combined issuance for September and October. The Benefits Specialists does not approve the case until Friday, October 2nd, which happens to be the night of regular payroll for October. September benefits will pay on the interim payroll and October benefits will pay on the regular payroll. Since the regular and interim payrolls cannot run on the same night, the October benefits will be available prior to the September benefits. October benefits will be available on October 3rd, but the September benefits will not be available until Tuesday October 6th as the interim payroll will run the night of Monday October 5th.