Small farms and food retailers are seeking ways to accept SNAP/EBT payments through Shopify, both online and at point-of-sale. While SNAP is now allowed for e-commerce in 35 states, Shopify does not natively support EBT payments through its gateway.
Current Solutions Being Explored:
Third-party payment processors like Forage and Pay Now Direct that can integrate with Shopify
WorldPay with TotilPay integration (mentioned for previous EBT acceptance)
Custom private app development through Shopify partners to integrate SNAP/EBT gateways
Key Challenges:
EBT transactions require complex API interactions: fund verification, real-time product eligibility parsing, split payments between eligible/non-eligible items, PIN entry, and multi-level government reporting
Processing fees are significant: approximately 3.4% from card processors plus Shopify’s additional 2%, totaling 5.4%
No plug-and-play solution exists in Shopify’s App Store
Status:
The discussion remains ongoing with no definitive solution implemented. Multiple merchants are USDA-approved for SNAP but struggle with technical integration. Some are considering alternative platforms like WooCommerce due to fee structures. Several development agencies offer custom integration services, but merchants must first secure their own SNAP/EBT payment processor accounts.
Summarized with AI on October 29.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
We are happy to assist with your requirement. To start with could you please share/DM us your preferred SNAP/EBT payment gateway providers “Developer API documentation” with your contact details?
Once it is shared, we can integrate them as a private payment gateway to your Shopify store. Once integration is completed , your preferred gateway will listed under alternative gateway list under your Shopify store settings-payments. And also it will work same as other public listed gateways on Shopify store.
Has anyone engaged with @N_Abey or others to develop this? If anyone has started or is interested, we should get together and have a group discussion to see if we can all contribute on the development costs and evaluate a few different Shopify development firms to find the best one.
It doesn’t seem like Totilpay or Worldpay accept EBT online, only at point-of-sale.
Please reach out to me at rob@farmlinkhawaii.com if you’re serious about getting this initiative going.
Hi, will you please forward information on accepting EBT through an integrated app? According to the USDA website, only FISERV/Paysecure is certified for secure pin-entry. Is your company affiliated? Thanks, Elisa