Target is the most recent major retailer to allow consumers to use their SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to pay for their online grocery purchases. Does Target accepts EBT Card? Read more to find out.
Despite the fact that the payment option has been accepted in shops for a while, online grocery retailers who offer kerbside pickup and delivery services have only lately started to embrace the payment option in their online offers.
It’s hard to think of a grocery store or supermarket that doesn’t take food stamps in 2014. This is because more than 46 million people are on SNAP, and in many states, more than 20% of households are on food stamps or some other form of public food assistance.(Photo: https://foodstampsnow.com/)
This also applied to Target, where shoppers could only use SNAP to make in-store purchases. Customers will now be able to pay for SNAP-eligible food goods on Target.com, according to the store.
For digital orders placed through the Target app, mobile payment methods will also be made available soon.
With these modifications, shoppers will be able to use SNAP to purchase groceries for same-day pickup through Target’s Drive Up and Order Pickup services, both of which don’t charge membership fees or have minimum order restrictions.
Consumers can browse the grocery specials in the retailer’s weekly advertising or, when available, use Target Circle savings to their food purchases.
Customers must go into their Target.com account and add their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) account number as a new card under “Payments” in order to get started.
Next, after placing SNAP-eligible products in their online shopping cart, they may check out and pay using their EBT payment method after verifying their purchase with the PIN.
Rick Gomez, Target’s chief food and beverage officer, said in a statement that “food and beverage is an immensely essential aspect of our customers’ lives, especially as we go into the Christmas season.”
In order to make the overall Target experience more accessible to all families, he continued, “I’m delighted that we’re offering additional digital payment alternatives for food shopping.”
After initially testing the feature in Minnesota alone earlier this summer, Target announced earlier this year that it would soon accept SNAP for online food purchases.
This year, the company started pilot-testing the option in a few states, including Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. With this week’s news, all states in the United States—aside from Alaska—now accept the SNAP payment option.
Online buying should no longer be viewed as a luxury, as numerous merchants have previously stated. Lower-income consumers, especially those on SNAP, may frequently save money by shopping online, where they can compare prices more effectively and possibly discover bargains they might have missed otherwise.
Also, buying groceries online may save time, especially for people who need to work several jobs or long hours to make ends meet.
Define EBT Card
The computerized system known as EBT, or electronic benefit transfer, allows those who are struggling financially to access government benefits like food stamps. These individuals take part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which allows them to spend SNAP benefits on items.
To use EBT benefits, a customer must make a purchase from a SNAP-approved retailer. When customers use their EBT card to purchase food from these businesses, their EBT Card account is debited to cover the cost of the purchases.
This government support program has been in operation since 2004, however as of now, its utilities are still being investigated and improved.
A plastic payment card with a magnetic stripe and security PIN is known as an EBT card. Money and food stamps are loaded into the EBT card, which has a PIN for security. This card can be used at authorized retail point-of-sale terminals for the SNAP program.
Families with financial difficulties have found enormous relief from SNAP thanks to EBT cards’ significant price reductions on groceries. Groceries are a recurring monthly cost.
Hence, by requesting an EBT card and purchasing food goods at reasonable costs, you may save a sizable sum of money from your monthly salary.
This initiative makes a healthy food accessible to low-income households, ultimately enhancing national health. Only food products are covered under SNAP benefits. The program is essential in lessening the harshness and difficulties of poverty.
Accepts EBT Cards at Target?
All of Target’s locations in the US accept EBT cards. If you buy the foods that are permitted for SNAP benefits, you can benefit from the program.
Nevertheless, you cannot use an EBT card online; you must use it in a Target location that is authorized to accept it. If you’re interested in learning more about the food products you may purchase with EBT benefits, keep reading.
Target’s EBT Policy
There are more than 1900 Target locations in the country, and each one allows consumers to spend their EBT benefits. To help you distinguish between things you can buy with your EBT card and those you cannot, the majority of these shops utilize WIC labelling.
For purchases of products that are not covered by the SNAP program, an alternative payment method must be utilized.
Target offers a regular 90-day return period for items purchased using an EBT card. But, because it is against federal law, you won’t receive cash back for returning EBT products.
If you return a purchase, Target may give you store credit, a gift card, or an equivalent item in addition to crediting your EBT card.
Read More:
SNAP Benefits and Eligibility for February 2023
SNAP Benefits Replacement: How To Change Your Card?
What can you Buy with SNAP Benefits 2023?
