California and Oklahoma have announced plans to begin issuing EBT EMV cards. These new EBT EMV cards do not use the same logic or certifications as EMV bank cards, and will therefore require work from EPOS vendors before they can be accepted as an EMV chip card transaction. As a workaround, the magnetic stripe capability on new chip cards is expected to continue to work for the foreseeable future.
We have EBT EMV capability development on the roadmap for each of the EBT accepting EPOS on our network. Timing for each is being worked with the appropriate EPOS vendors.
Existing Verifone Commander/C18 software will not accept the new cards as Chip or magnetic stripe until the next version of software is available. This version is finalizing certification now and is expected to go to field beta around the end of the 1st QTR. This version will be v55.02 and will include capability for the mag stripe fallback functionality to allow the continued acceptance of these cards. If you are presented one of these new EBT chip cards before new software is available, you will need to ask for a different form of payment.
Gilbarco Passport and NCR RPOS sites with current software will be able to continue accepting these cards as magnetic stripe fallback until the EMV capability is developed and certified.
For more information about the new cards, visit https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/modernization
