Discount giant now lets customers use food stamps to pay for online orders

Walmart customers that receive government assistance can now shop for food online.



The discount giant is allowing customers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the formal term for food stamps — to place online orders. However, the program does come with one loophole.



Federal guidelines require SNAP members to pay for their food in person. To adhere to this requirement — and still enable customers to take advantage of its online ordering and pickup service — the discounter allows shoppers to use their food stamps to pay for their transaction when they retrieve their order at their store’s Online Grocery Pickup location.



Currently, the service is being tested in one store in the Houston area and four location around Boise, Idaho. Walmart plans to expand to “more markets through the holiday season and beyond,” Mike Turner, Walmart’s VP of e-commerce operations, said in the company’s blog.



“Everyone deserves this kind of satisfaction,” he said. “Convenience shouldn’t be dictated by the way you pay.”



This is the newest program that benefits customers using electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, to pay for their food purchases. In August, Albertsons joined a two-year pilot program that enables SNAP participants to shop online and have their groceries delivered. The service is available in Albertsons' Maryland, Oregon and Washington State divisions.



Meanwhile, in June, Walmart’s online rival Amazon announced that individuals participating in EBT government assistance programs can sign up for a Prime membership at the discounted rate of $5.99 per month. The regular annual membership for Prime is $99 per year, or $10.99 a month for those who prefer to pay monthly.