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Are you still accepting WIC checks? Are you using a stand-beside WIC terminal in your store? Independent grocers have known for almost 10 years of the federal mandate that all states must implement electronic benefit transfer (EBT) for WIC program benefits by October 1st, 2020 and many states are scrambling to make that deadline. In fact, over 50 million Americans are served by two states (California & Illinois) that are just in the process of rolling out the program now.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five. WIC serves about half of all infants born in the United States. Historically these funds have been distributed by checks which can be used to purchase nutritional items from authorized grocers however the process was prone to error, was difficult to manage and added to the stigma of WIC participants. Now, with eWIC these benefits can be processed just like a debit card, integrated into the grocers point of sale (POS).
There is no need to hold off on upgrading your POS to an eWIC capable system. Any upgrade costs will be eclipsed by the improvements to your store. Independent grocers will realize many benefits by implementing an integrated eWIC solution including:
Integrated eWIC will make you wonder how you ever managed the manual process before.
If your store is not using a POS solution capable of accepting eWIC cards, your customers will begin shopping elsewhere. Here are just a few of the ways eWIC benefits your customers:
With eWIC, participants can shop for what they need, when they need it, just like any other shopper.
Less sophisticated POS systems have not completed the stringent development and certification process required to accept eWIC. This has left many independent grocers with no choice but to use a non-integrated stand-beside terminal from their state. These terminals come with new challenges including many of the problems of the old manual WIC process including:
If you are not using an eWIC capable system or your current point of sale provider is charging exorbitant fees to upgrade, it might be time to look for a new solution.
So you want to accept eWIC? Now what? Your first step in determining if you are able to accept eWIC is to contact your POS support provider. They should be experts on eWIC, and with their help you can determine:
The eWIC deadline is fast approaching. There is no need to worry, but the time to act is now. If your state is just rolling out the new eWIC technology or if you are stuck using a non-integrated solution, contact Auto-Star today or visit us at the NGA Show in San Diego, February 23 – 26, 2020 to learn more about our purpose-built solutions for grocers including integrated eWIC.