The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute applauds Governor Healey and the Massachusetts Legislature for investing in secure EBT cards to protect SNAP food benefit recipients against theft. The FY 25 supplemental budget (S.2575, item 4400-1033), signed into law this week, includes $15.5 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to upgrade EBT cards with chip technology.
Currently, state-issued EBT cards lack the chip or tap technology used by most other credit and debit cards in the consumer marketplace. With only a magnetic stripe, EBT cards have been much more vulnerable to skimming schemes, orchestrated by organized criminal rings who steal funds from EBT accounts. As a result, tens of thousands of low-income households in Massachusetts who use EBT cards to access SNAP benefits have seen those benefits stolen by thieves, through no fault of the household.
We strongly support our state leaders’ efforts to improve EBT card security to protect against theft. However, we remain concerned that victims of theft do not receive reimbursements, unlike other consumers whose debit or credit card funds are stolen. From 2022 to 2024, the federal government provided reimbursement of stolen SNAP benefits; Congress ended those reimbursements in December 2024. Since then, Massachusetts has not provided additional state funds to reimburse SNAP theft victims.
Victims of SNAP theft are left scrambling to pay for groceries – skipping meals, incurring debt, and using rent funds or missing bill payments to buy food for their family. These financial consequences wreak havoc on the low-income families’ precarious budgets.
Implementing chip EBT cards will dramatically reduce SNAP theft, but it will take months for DTA to issue chip EBT cards to 660,000 SNAP households across Massachusetts. We will continue to advocate for theft victims who are harmed in the meantime to be made whole.
We urge the Healey Administration and DTA to begin the transition to chip EBT cards quickly to reduce the harms to Massachusetts families caused by SNAP theft. We look forward to partnering with the state to ensure a timely, efficient, and thoughtful roll-out of the new cards that maintains equitable access to SNAP benefits for low-income families.