The department will afford all authorized retailers, including non-traditional retailers, the opportunity to participate in the EBT system. By federal regulation, the department may not require authorized retailers to pay costs essential to and directly attributable to EBT system operations as long as the equipment or services are provided by the EBT vendor or its agent and are utilized solely for FoodShare benefit issuance. If the vendor or agent must provide equipment to a retailer to afford the opportunity to participate in the EBT system, the following criteria shall apply:

1. (1) Pos terminals.

   1. (a) The retailer must have $100 or more per month in FoodShare redemption activity and have the capability to support operation of the terminal.

   2. (b) POS terminals shall be deployed as follows:

      1. 1. When FoodShare redemption activity is 15 percent or more of total food sales, the retailer shall have POS terminals for all checkout lanes.
      2. 2. When FoodShare redemption activity is less than 15 percent of total food sales, designated supermarkets shall have one POS terminal for every $11,000 in monthly redemption activity up to the number of lanes per store.
      3. 3. All other retailers shall have one POS terminal for every $8,000 in monthly redemption activity.
   3. (c) A retailer whose redemption activity qualifies for 3 or more EBT-only POS terminals may request an additional POS terminal for use by clients to check their food stamp balance if the terminal is located in a designated area of the store and is available for self-service use by clients.
2. (2) Manual transaction capability. The department shall provide manual transaction capability to retailers who do not qualify for a POS terminal. Refer to s. DHS 252.12 (3).
3. (3) Telephone lines. A retailer with average FoodShare redemptions of at least $5000 per month may request a dedicated telephone line for exclusive EBT use and the EBT vendor shall install such a line. In providing retailers access to the vendor’s system, the EBT vendor shall comply with the regulations in 7 CFR 274.

History

History: Cr. Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99; correction in (2) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2009 No. 637; CR 25-055: am. (intro.), (1) (a), renum. (1) (b) to (1) (b) (intro.) and am., cr. (1) (b) 1. to 3.,(c), am. (3) Register February 2026 No. 842, eff. 3-1-26; correction in (1) (b) 1., 2. made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register February 2026 No. 842.