Retailers who aren’t yet able to update their systems to accept EBT chip cards can make sure their terminals can fall back to magnetic stripe processing.
ECL (Empty Candidate List) Fallback means that your business’s point of sale (POS) terminal can be prompted to accept a card’s magnetic stripe if the system is not yet configured to accept a chip card.
In this instance, one failed chip reading will prompt the system to request the magnetic stripe, compared to three in other circumstances where a chip is not recognized.
You’ll use USDA’s ECL Test Scripts and test cards, which you can request either from your POS provider or the EBT payment processor for your state:
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia
Send request here (jamie.topolski@conduent.com)
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Send request here (emv.testcards@fisglobal.com)
Louisiana, Montana:
Send request here (EBTChip@nationalgrocers.org)
Please use the form below:
The intent of collecting this information is so that FNS can determine that SNAP users have access to their benefits once chip cards are distributed in a given State. While this information may be shared with States that are working toward implementation, individual retailer information will not be publicly distributed or displayed in any form.
