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SNAP EBT setup

Available on request means that the feature is turned off by default. To turn on a feature, contact your Instacart representative.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a United States federal program that helps people with low-income buy the food they need for good health. SNAP benefits are processed through the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) debit card system.

SNAP participants want to be able to use their EBT card to pay for SNAP-eligible food while shopping online. According to Instacart research, these customers purchase SNAP-eligible items first and then other food and household products they need. By offering EBT cards as another payment method, you can attract new customers to your storefront while also improving access to food for SNAP participants. You can offer this payment method at some or all of your store locations.

For more information about the program and the payment method, see the following pages on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service site:

To learn how this integration affects your storefront, see SNAP EBT on your storefront.

Configuration process​

Before Instacart can configure your site to support SNAP EBT, you must be an approved retailer for SNAP in your physical stores. Then you must apply to offer EBT payments online. The time required to add support to your site depends on the length of time spent on each step in the process.

The following steps outline the high-level process and include links to the USDA Food and Nutrition Services SNAP site. The process and links can change without notice. If a link becomes unavailable, search the USDA site for answers to your questions. If there is a discrepancy between this document and the USDA site, always follow the USDA site.

Your Instacart team helps guide you through the following steps:

  1. Retailer applies to Food and Nutrition Services to offer SNAP benefits.

    1. If your retailer isn't approved to offer SNAP in their physical stores, apply on the Food and Nutrition Services SNAP site: How do I apply to accept benefits?
    2. After your retailer is approved to offer SNAP in their physical stores, send a letter of intent to Food and Nutrition Services to apply to offer SNAP online. The following guide outlines the steps to take, including what goes into the letter of intent, where to send it, and what happens after the letter is received: Retailer Requirements to Provide Online Purchasing to SNAP Households

  2. Instacart configures SNAP EBT for the retailer's site in the user acceptance testing environment.

    1. Implements the site changes. The site changes inherit the retailer's storefront branding and styling. No other customizations are available.
    2. Adds a help topic.
    3. Adds a program launch page.

  3. Retailer sets up a meeting with Food and Nutrition Services where Instacart demos the site.

  4. Food and Nutrition Services performs end-to-end testing of the site.

  5. Instacart resolves all high-severity issues that are identified during testing.

  6. Retailer creates an account with a payment processor who is authorized to support payment by EBT card, including PIN entry. See the guide for the currently authorized third-party providers.

  7. Retailer updates their catalog to identify the items that are eligible for SNAP benefits. In your inventory file, add the column usa_snap_eligible. For the items that are eligible for SNAP, set this field to true. Default is false. For more information, see SNAP EBT requirements.

  8. Food and Nutrition Services approves the retailer site.

  9. Retailer says they are ready to launch.

  10. Instacart updates the production version of the retailer site.

Policies​

The following policies apply to SNAP EBT as a payment method.

Shoppers app​

Customer privacy is important to us. Personal shoppers don't know whether an order includes a payment by EBT card. The Instacart Shopper app uses a modified replacement logic for SNAP-eligible items. If a SNAP-eligible item is unavailable, the app suggests other SNAP-eligible items as replacements.

EBT card as a payment method​

For sites hosted by Instacart where we enable payment flows, the following topics apply.

Payment at checkout​

The customer can choose to pay for their SNAP-eligible items with their SNAP EBT card. The amount deducted from the card is the subtotal for SNAP-eligible items or the balance on the card, whichever is less. Funds are deducted from the card after the customer places their order and enters a valid PIN for the selected EBT card.

Taxes​

SNAP-eligible items that are paid for by an EBT card aren't taxable.

The following scenarios are factored into tax calculations on retailer sites:

  • SNAP-eligible items not paid for with an EBT card. The amount of SNAP-eligible items that aren't paid for with the EBT card is taxable at the applicable state tax rate. The tax calculation attempts to minimize the overall tax burden by applying the highest-taxed items to the EBT card first.
  • Coupons. When a coupon fully covers the cost of a SNAP-eligible item, the customer is charged tax for this product.
  • Cart-level credits, discounts, and gift cards. The deductions are applied first to the taxable items in the cart. If deductions remain, they're applied to the SNAP-eligible items.

Order changes​

If a SNAP-eligible item is unavailable, the Instacart Shopper app suggests other SNAP-eligible items as replacements. If a customer decides that none of the SNAP-eligible replacements are suitable, the customer can request a refund or ask for a non-SNAP-eligible item as a replacement. The cost of a non-SNAP-eligible item is applied to the customer's other payment method, not the EBT card.

Final calculation​

After the customer receives their order, the order is marked as complete. A final calculation occurs. For more information, see Payments and reconciliations.

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