VIRGINIA - Virginia will start rolling out new, more secure Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, with "chip-and-tap" technology in an effort to stop Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud and protect families from having their assistance "skimmed."
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger's office says chip-enabled cards are more resistant to theft, called skimming, where credit card information is captured at the point of sale, then benefits are drained before families can use them.
Households enrolled in SNAP do not need to do anything to receive the new card, they will be mailed directly to households. They will be delivered to the mailing address on file with the families' local department of social services.
“When I took office, I made clear that my administration would find new ways to make government work better for Virginians,” says Governor Abigail Spanberger. “At a time when many families are struggling to keep up with the rising price of groceries and Republicans in Washington are making the deepest cuts to SNAP in the program’s history, we are taking this step to make sure families have secure, accessible support and are protected from bad actors.”
They say the chip cards align Virginia's EBT systems with the same technology used by banks and major retailers. Users can insert the chip or tap-to-pay with these new cards.
Virginia is the eighth state to adopt chip-enabled EBT cards, and the fifth to use technology that supports both tap-to-pay and inserting the chip. They say the upgrade is part of Virginia’s broader work to modernize the way it delivers services, bringing a critical benefits system up to the security standard families already expect from bank cards.
“SNAP benefits are often what stands between the families we serve and an empty table, and no one should have to worry about going hungry because a criminal targeted the help they depend on,” says Commissioner of Virginia Department of Social Services Duke Storen. “The threat of benefit theft is real, and this modernization strengthens the security of the benefits Virginians count on.”
The Governor's Office says the second round of card rollouts is scheduled for the end of October, and all Virginia EBT cardholders are expected to have their new cards by the end of the year.
