Does Amazon Take EBT

Does Amazon accept EBT? Amazon is a major American-based e-commerce platform owned by Jeff Bezos. It sells many commodities, such as groceries, electronic devices, clothes, furniture, home decor essentials, and much more.

It also has many payment methods available for its goods, such as cash, credit card, EMI, online banking, etc. The latest addition is the EBT (i.e., Electronic Benefit Transfer) card through the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) but only on a few eligible items only.

Who are eligible for this program?

Customers from all the states wanting to shop from Amazon with a valid SNAP EBT card can get the benefits of EBT except those in Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Montana. For customers in those states, there’s noo word about when these states might start using EBT cards, unfortunately.

The eligibility criteria require the applicant to be from the state for which they are applying and have a specific minimum bank account balance. If the applicant’s age is over 60 years or is “specially-abled,” then he/she might be allowed a different bank account limit.

To get the benefits of EBT, you would be required to purchase only $35 or more of eligible items, including free shipping and many other exclusive deals. These items can be filtered using ‘SNAP EBT eligible’ label.

EBT is applicable on Amazon Fresh items like the following:

• Fruits & vegetables
• Poultry, meat, fish
• Dairy products
• Bread, cereals, canned goods
• Pantry items, snacks, seeds
• Non-alcoholic beverages

Do only Prime members have access to this?

The answer is no. You do not have to be a member of Amazon Prime to enjoy the benefits of EBT for Amazon items. Instead, you have access to Amazon Fresh. It is a grocery portal of Amazon that non-EBT users of Amazon do not have access to, which means it is exclusive to EBT users. Whole Foods Market is also a platform similar in function to Amazon Fresh, but it does not allow the use of EBT on its platform.

At the same time, it’s important to note that EBT does not apply to third-party sellers, meaning that the sale and shipping must be made by Amazon. And you also cannot buy Amazon Gift Cards or Prime memberships with EBT.

But here’s the best part – you can get a whopping 50% discount on Amazon Prime membership if you verify the proof of being an EBT recipient on their website. To do so, you would have to enter your EBT number and upload an image of your card.

How to add my EBT card to Amazon & how do I use it?

To add your SNAP/EBT card to your personal Amazon account, you can follow the steps as instructed below –

1. Log into your personal Amazon account by entering your username and password.
2. Go to the top right corner, and tap on ‘Account.’
3. When you click on this, you will see ‘Account’ again under ‘My Account.’
4. After clicking on it, you will see a page with many options.
5. Select ‘Your Payments’
6. There you will be able to add a new card to your account.
7. Add your EBT card, and you are good to go!

Now you can go on to start your grocery shopping from Amazon. Once you put all your items in the cart and checkout, you would have to input your EBT card PIN to pay for those items. And there’s no reason to worry. If there are some items that are not eligible for EBT, they can be paid for separately.

They can be paid using any other payment method, such as via a credit card. Again, Whole Foods Market does not use EBT as a mode of payment online.

Can you with EBT with an Amazon Business account?

No, the Amazon Business accounts do not meet the requirements for SNAP/EBT. You can opt to create a free personal Amazon account and shop from that account to access EBT services through Amazon Fresh.

My experience with using EBT at grocery stores…

Using EBT or SNAP can be a little frustrating. Here are my best tips:

• Plan ahead. It’s best to shop when there are fewer people in the store. For one reason, you might be slightly ashamed of having to use EBT. That’s okay! That’s what it was like for me. I found it best to shop at the stores when no one else was around.
• Call ahead. A simple phone call can save you a lot of headaches. Simply ask the store if you can use EBT or SNAP at their retail location. You’d be surprised how helpful everyone wants to be!

My experience getting Amazon questions answered…

Here’s the thing, getting someone on the phone at Amazon is getting harder. You can use the virtual chat, although it’s getting more difficult. And I get it… Amazon has a lot of questions to answer, and they have a lot of orders to field.

Here are the best ways to get your Amazon questions answered:

• Don’t ask delivery drivers – I made this mistake. Understand that drivers at 1099 workers. They are contractors and cannot help you get the answer that you need.
• Don’t be afraid to make a call or use the virtual assistant – You might have to wait… yes. And it isn’t fun… yes. Although, getting your refund or question answered is sometimes more valuable. This is still the best way to get a question answered, in my opinion.

Common questions

Other questions about Amazon EBT and payment options: