Office of EBT
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Retail Merchants

​​​​​​The West Virginia DHHR Office of EBT Banking Services has contracted with Fidelity Information Services, LLC (FIS) to operate and maintain an EBT services platform for the State’s EBT cardholders and merchants. Only merchants authorized by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) can accept the Mountain State EBT Card for SNAP benefit redemptions (food purchases).​​​

To become an authorized retailer and accept the Mountain State EBT Card, complete the online applic​ation.
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During the FNS approval process, a determination per the Agricultural Act of 2014 will be made as to whether the applicant is “exempt” or "non-exempt”.  Farmers Markets, Direct Marketing Farmers, Military Commissaries, Non-profit Food-buying Cooperatives, Drug a​nd/or Alcohol Treatment Facilities, Shelters for Battered Women and Children, Group Living Arrangements, and Community Meal Services/Programs, such as Homeless Meal Providers, Meal Delivery Service, and Senior Citizens’ Centers are classified as “exempt” and are eligible for State-supplied Point-of-Sale (POS) equipment that handles only EBT transactions and are exempt from paying for the POS equipment. All other merchants are classified as “non-exempt” by FNS and will process transactions through a third-party processor (TPP) or FIS.
 
 


POS Equipment

West Virginia provides Point of Sale (POS) terminals to participating exempt merchants that do not have their own POS equipment or an agreement with a Third Party Processor (TPP). The state EBT processor is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of POS equipment, including replacing non-functioning terminals. The current EBT processor, FIS, provides merchants with access to a toll-free help desk service that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7). The FIS Merchant Help Desk phone number is 877-262-9905.
 
FIS ships POS terminals to EBT-only merchants with the POS application already loaded into the terminal. Along with providing the POS equipment, FIS works with merchants to ensure the equipment is installed properly. FIS adds all participating merchants to the ebtEDGE System.
 
If the equipment does not work properly, FIS will supply replacement equipment within the time frames specified in the federal food benefit (SNAP) regulations.
 
When a merchant reports an equipment problem, the customer service representative (CSR) at the Merchant Help Desk asks a series of questions to determine the cause of the problem. The merchant may also be asked to perform certain terminal functions designed to confirm that the problem is not due to an electrical, telecommunications, or other non-equipment malfunction.

Merchants that use POS terminals provided by the State are able to: 
  • Assign, remove, or change supervisor and clerk passwords. These passwords limit a person’s access to the POS terminal and supervisory functions.
  • Download the terminal application.
  • Print totals reporting the terminal’s transaction activity for that store’s business day.
  • Print totals reporting the store’s transaction activity for that business day.
  • Print totals of all clerks’ transaction activity for that business day. Reprint the last transaction receipt when a receipt is damaged, does not print, or a printer ribbon breaks.
  • Sign on and sign off the EBT POS System. Train staff to use the EBT POS System. The Training Mode function allows the merchant’s staff to practice POS transactions without sending them to the main FIS computer.
  • Void the last transaction performed.
 

FIS Merchant Contract Questions/Changes/Updates

FIS Merchant Services manages merchant contracts and assists merchants with contract changes/updates. Merchant Services can be reached by email or by phone.
Telephone:  800-894-0050
Merchant Portal: www.ebtEDGE.com