SNAP Goes Mobile: Food Stamps Swipe into Phone Era
Published Date: 6/13/2025
Notice
Summary
The Department of Agriculture is asking for public feedback on a new info collection about SNAP’s Mobile Payment Pilots, which help people use their benefits more easily with phones. This review aims to make sure the process is clear, useful, and not too much work for participants. Comments are open until July 14, 2025, so anyone affected by SNAP or interested can weigh in before changes move forward.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Large Reporting Burden on EBT Business Partners
Business respondents (EBT processors, SNAP retailers, mobile payment vendors or contractors) are estimated at 20 respondents with 12 responses each, 240 total annual responses, and an estimated 120 hours per response, for a total annual burden of 28,800 hours. These burdens are tied to participation in the Mobile Payment Pilots and required reporting.
SNAP Mobile Payment Pilots Authorized
The Food and Nutrition Service is implementing up to five Mobile Payment Pilots (MPPs) that would let SNAP benefits be used with personal mobile devices (cell phones, tablets, smart watches) instead of SNAP EBT cards at participating retailers. These pilots are authorized under Section 4006(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2018 and will be evaluated by FNS to recommend whether mobile payments should be allowed.
SNAP Household Paperwork Time Burden
The information collection estimates 25,000 SNAP household respondents (15,000 respondents and 10,000 non-respondents), about 30,000 total annual responses, with an estimated 0.07 hour (about 4 minutes) per response and a total annual burden of 2,167 hours for SNAP recipients. This paperwork relates to participation in the Mobile Payment Pilots and associated data collection.
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Key Dates
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