Sponsors (7)
The bill modernizes EBT systems to better protect beneficiaries and speed access to benefits, but it shifts substantial upfront and ongoing costs and administrative burdens onto states, retailers, and taxpayers while creating transitional risks to access and some privacy/oversight trade-offs.
Low-income households receiving SNAP benefits will face reduced risk of benefit theft and card fraud because the bill requires chip-enabled EBT cards, retailer terminal modernization, and stronger cybersecurity/reporting standards.
Low-income households will regain access to benefits faster because states must provide replacement EBT cards within 3 business days and offer mail or in-person pickup options.
SNAP participants will pay less out-of-pocket because the bill prohibits replacement fees for card malfunctions, fraud victims, and routine administrative replacements.
State governments, retailers (particularly small stores), and taxpayers will face substantial upfront and ongoing costs because reissuing cards, upgrading EBT systems, buying chip-enabled cards, and modernizing terminals require investments that reimbursements or grants may not fully cover.
Low-income households in rural or small communities will risk reduced local access to SNAP because very small or rural retailers may be unable to upgrade terminals or meet compliance deadlines and could stop accepting EBT.
SNAP beneficiaries will face possible short-term loss of access to benefits because system migrations and terminal upgrades could cause service disruptions or outages during the transition.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Sets NIST-aligned cybersecurity rules for EBT and online SNAP, phases in chip-enabled EBT cards, mandates quick replacements, limits certain replacement fees, requires chip-capable retailer terminals, and increases reporting.
Introduced February 24, 2026 by Daniel Goldman · Last progress February 24, 2026
Requires the USDA to create and update cybersecurity and digital-service rules for SNAP electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards and online transactions, including definitions and standards aligned with NIST; phases in a switch to chip-enabled EBT cards over several years; mandates faster replacement of lost, damaged, or frozen cards and limits when States may charge replacement fees; requires retailers to use chip-enabled payment terminals to participate in SNAP; and directs periodic reporting on online benefit theft and a focused security report for Puerto Rico. Sets specific deadlines for agency rulemaking (including 2-year and 180-day windows), phased state compliance timelines (up to 4–5 years for card reissuance), regular reporting to Congress, and consultations with law enforcement, state agencies, retailers, and technical standards bodies. Some reimbursement language in the provided text was truncated and is not fully specified in the supplied summary.