New York State EBT Users Will Be Temporarily Without Funds Over the Weekend

If you are a New York State resident who utilizes the EBT system for access to benefits you need to be prepared. The usage of your EBT card benefits will be suspended on Sunday for a considerable amount of time.

Many people use their Sunday mornings to go shopping for groceries and this is the exact time in which residents who receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or cash benefits (Temporary Assistance) will be without those benefits. That is why those individuals may want to consider adjusting their weekly shopping routines.

According to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance the funds from your EBT card will be unavailable from 12:01 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. on Sunday. The actual amount of time may be shorter or longer depending on how long the transition from one contractor to the next takes. The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance says,

New York's EBT system will be changing over to a new EBT vendor during this timeframe. Cardholder access to EBT benefits will not be available during the changeover. This includes access for food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals, as well as access to the EBT toll-free customer service helpline, mobile app, and online client portal. Please plan your food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals accordingly.

You can track the progress of the vendor transition on Sunday by checking otda.ny.gov. The hope is to get this done as quickly as possible.

This transition only impacts New York State EBT users and not much is changing on the users end. OTDA says that you will not need a new card or pin number. What will change is the ConnectEBT app and ConnectEBT online client portal will no longer be in use for EBT cardholders. Officials say users will have to download the new ebtEDGE client portal and app to check balances and manage usage. You will be able to freeze and unfreeze usage with the new app as well.

For anyone who has questions you will be able to contact the customer service line at 1-888-328-6399. That number will remain the same after the transition as well.