Section 672.415  Food Benefit Processing

The Vendor shall submit Food Benefits for payment for the provision of WIC supplemental foods in the process determined by the software developer and maker of the point of sale register system or device in accordance with the USDA Operating Rules for WIC EBT and the USDA Technical Implementation Guide (TIG) for eWIC (see Section 672.105(b)). The following minimum standards shall be met:  

a)         Vendors shall accept eWIC payment from any person presenting an eWIC card and upon entering a valid PIN.

b)         WIC Cardholders may redeem Food Benefits over as many, or as few, transactions as desired until the benefit expiration date. Cardholders are not required to use all or most of their benefits at once.

c)         Vendors shall provide WIC Cardholders with a receipt for foods purchased with eWIC benefits.  The receipt shall include the remaining benefit balance.

d)         Vendors shall process a balance inquiry when requested by a WIC Cardholder. Vendors shall not require a minimum purchase in order to process a balance inquiry.

e)         Vendors using an integrated system shall allow WIC Cardholders to purchase both WIC and non-WIC Foods in a single transaction. Vendors must allow WIC customers to use another form of payment (SNAP, cash, or debit/credit card) to pay for anything not covered by WIC.

f)         Vendors shall not provide incentive items dependent upon WIC Cardholders redeeming some or all of their benefits at one time.

g)         EBT Minimum Lane Coverage.  Point of sale (POS) terminals used to support the WIC program shall be deployed in accordance with the minimum lane coverage provisions of 7 CFR 246.12(z)(2).  The Department may remove excess terminals if actual redemption activity warrants a reduction consistent with the redemption levels outlined in 7 CFR 246.12(z)(2)(i) and (ii).

h)         EBT Third-Party Processing Costs and Fees.  The Vendor shall not charge to the Department any third-party commercial processing costs and fees incurred by the Vendor from EBT multi-function equipment. Commercial transaction processing costs and fees imposed by a third-party processor that the Vendor elects to use to connect to the EBT system of the State shall be borne by the Vendor.

i)          EBT Interchange Fees.  The Department will not pay or reimburse the Vendor for interchange fees related to WIC EBT transactions.

j)          EBT Ongoing Maintenance and Operational Costs.  The Department will not pay for ongoing maintenance, processing fees, or operational costs for vendor systems and equipment used to support WIC EBT after the Department has implemented WIC EBT statewide, unless the equipment was provided to the Vendor during the implementation of the WIC EBT system, is used solely for the WIC Program and the Department determines the Vendor using multi-function equipment is necessary for Participant access.  This provision also applies to authorized farmers and farmers' markets. Costs shared by the Department will be proportional to the usage for the WIC Program.

k)         Compliance with EBT Operating Rules, Standards and Technical Requirements.  The Vendor shall comply with the operating rules, standards and technical requirements incorporated by the Department (see Section 672.105).

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 2073, effective January 21, 2022)