Using EBT on Instacart and Walmart online

The USDA rule that applies everywhere

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service says SNAP online purchasing is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only eligible food may be bought with SNAP. Delivery fees and other charges cannot be paid with SNAP benefits. The retailer checkout still asks for your PIN. USDA says that PIN entry has to go through an approved encrypted method.

Instacart

Instacart's EBT SNAP page says customers in the U.S. can pay for eligible items, in full or in part, from participating stores in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. You add the EBT card in account settings. Instacart's help center says you can save one EBT card, and you must also add a credit or debit card. That second card pays fees, bottle deposits in some states, taxes, tips, and items SNAP does not cover.

Instacart says it accepts SNAP and SUN Bucks and does not accept EBT cash. Eligible products are marked in the app. Participating chains change; Instacart publishes the current store list. A delivery-fee promotion on Instacart's marketing page is an offer with its own terms, not a permanent SNAP rule. Read the banner on their site before you count on it.

Walmart

Walmart's SNAP online page says EBT cash and SNAP are accepted for online orders in all 50 states, for shipping, pickup, or delivery where the service exists. You add the EBT card to a Walmart account, shop items marked SNAP EBT eligible, and enter the PIN at checkout. Walmart says a Walmart account is required for an online order.

Walmart's page also says pickup is free when a SNAP EBT card is linked. That is Walmart's current offer, not a USDA rule. Fees for delivery, if any, cannot be paid with SNAP. Confirm the fee on the order screen before you place it.

A safe checkout

Enter the card number and PIN only on Instacart's or Walmart's own site or app, or on another retailer listed by USDA. BenefitBoost will not ask for either. If a text sends you to a different login page, go to the retailer's site by typing the address yourself.