BOSTON — Massachusetts is adopting chip-and-pin-enabled Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to curb theft across the system, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, program, the governor said Monday.
The Department of Transitional Assistance will begin piloting chip-and-PIN-enabled EBT cards later this year, Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
The Bay State would become the third state nationwide to implement this tool to prevent theft and ensure taxpayer dollars are protected, Healey said.
“Massachusetts is taking action to protect families and the programs they rely on to afford groceries and other essential goods,” Healey said.
Healey’s announcement came amid recent reports of massive SNAP fraud in the Bay State.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney announced that a man listed as “John Doe,” who is in the country illegally and has lived in the Worcester area for two decades, is accused of using the identity of a dead U.S. citizen to obtain SNAP benefits.
Last week, a convenience store owner in Boston was convicted of trafficking nearly $7 million in SNAP government benefits in a massive fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney said Tuesday.
SNAP is a federal program that is entirely funded with federal dollars.
The state has started notifying Massachusetts retailers to prepare for this upcoming change by updating their Point-of-Sale (POS) systems to accept the new chip-and/or tap EBT cards, the governor said.
Healey said chip-and-tap-enabled EBT cards were not authorized by the federal government for use until 2024, and guidance for states to implement these more secure EBT cards was not released until August 2025.
“These new chip-enabled EBT cards will strengthen protections against theft and make sure this support is going to the people who need it,” Healey said. “We’re one of the first states in the nation to adopt this new technology because protecting taxpayer dollars is a top priority for us, and we thank retailers and clients in advance for working with us to implement this.”
Last year, Massachusetts lawmakers passed funding to implement the transition to the more secure cards. Only two other states have launched chip-and-tap-enabled EBT card pilot programs to date.
EBT cards store and access benefits for almost 1 million people in Massachusetts who receive assistance from the Department of Transitional Assistance.
There are an estimated 5,500 SNAP retailers in Massachusetts who complete EBT transactions.
The Department of Transitional Assistance issues approximately $2.6 billion in SNAP benefits annually to households meeting various eligibility criteria.
Benefit theft occurs when eligible clients have their benefits stolen through criminal activity. Healey said the most common method of benefit theft is installing card skimmers on point-of-sale (POS) devices to steal card information from the card’s magnetic stripe.
Criminals then use the card information to make fraudulent purchases, leaving clients with zero balances to meet their basic needs as intended.
Massachusetts chip-and-PIN-enabled EBT cards will contain a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) microchip and other technologies that are much more secure than a traditional magnetic-stripe EBT card, Healey said.
For each transaction, the microchip generates a unique code that must be verified by the EBT system before the transaction is authorized.
Chip-and-tap-enabled EBT cards complete transactions by being inserted into or tapped on a POS terminal, rather than swiped using the magnetic stripe.
“DTA’s job is to provide support to eligible households in need, and blocking criminal actors who would intervene and steal those benefits is an absolute top priority. After years of advocacy and hard work to get here, Massachusetts is excited to introduce a measure that will further reduce opportunities for benefits to be stolen, helping families put food on the table and stopping theft before it occurs,” Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner Michael Cole said in a statement on Monday.
To report fraud to the Department of Transitional Assistance online, visit this website, send an email to DTA.ReportFraud@MassMail.State.MA.US, or call the DTA’s Fraud Hotline at 800-372-8399.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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