NACS, FMI – The Food Industry Association and the National Grocers Association sent a letter yesterday to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committees calling on Congress to protect customers and retailers by prohibiting additional processing fees from being levied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefit transfer (EBT) transactions.

The letter was signed by over 1,000 food retailers of all sizes serving millions of SNAP participants every day, and state, regional and national associations representing tens of thousands of SNAP authorized retailers across the country.

The letter requests that the bipartisan “Ensuring Fee-Free Benefit Transactions (EBT) Act” be enacted in a multi-year Farm Bill or other vehicle this year to permanently prohibit states and state contractors from levying processing fees from a state's side of a SNAP EBT transaction onto SNAP authorized retailers and their merchant processors.

“Congress must act quickly to pass the EBT Act and give retailers the certainty they need to keep serving SNAP families without added costs,” said Margaret Mannion, NACS director of government relations. “Processing fees on EBT transactions have long been prohibited and reversing that protection would hand windfall profits to payment processors while driving up the cost of food.”

“For years, independent grocers have operated under only temporary assurances that they wouldn’t be burdened by fees on SNAP transactions,” remarked Stephanie Johnson, group vice president of government relations at the National Grocers Association. “Congress’s intent has always been clear: retailers should not be charged fees to accept SNAP payments in order to create the greatest possible access for families in need. Now is the time for a permanent solution. Community grocers are proud to serve their neighbors with fresh, healthy food, and with the EBT Act, they can continue doing so without the threat of burdensome fees.”

The bipartisan EBT Act (H.R. 4158) was introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Shontel Brown (D-OH) and Tony Wied (R-WI), members of the House Agriculture Committee. Stakeholders are requesting that the measure be included in a multi-year Farm Bill or other legislative vehicle that will be enacted this year.

NACS offers SNAP resources which can be found here.