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1:50 PM
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Mobility and EBT

Smart phones are changing the way people are interacting, such as using social media from Facebook to Instagram, Twitter to WhatsApp. Now, mobile apps are looking to change the way we conduct financial transactions through e-Commerce. 

This year’s EBT—The Next Generation conference offers a breakout session that looks at mobile apps being used today for commercial payments and how they may be used in the future for handling payment of government benefits. 

Examples of these are- person to person payments (P2P), mobile wallets, Samsung pay, ATM single pay (mobile-ATM). This session discuss the ways these technologies can and will affect your programs.  

Advances in payment technologies help EBT practitioners practitioners do our jobs more effectively and introduce opportunities for efficiencies and enhanced customer experiences. Smartphone mobile applications are just one of the ways technology is rapidly changing how consumer payments are being processed.  

EBT—The Next Generation is the only national conference dedicated to providing this exciting new payment technology information, along with many other sessions dedicated to current and future activities and trends within the EBT industry. 


So don’t miss out! Register today for EBT—The Next Generation Conference today. To register for the conference, visit https://www. practitioners.com/conferences/ebt-next-gen/registration .
1:22 PM

EBT Goes Online to Solve the Food-Desert Problem

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The US Agriculture Department, which administers what is colloquially known as the Food Stamp Program, is toying with the idea of allowing program participants to purchase food online. This is made possible because the program uses Electronic Benefits Transfer technology to authorize purchases. 

EBT uses standard debit-card technology and infrastructure to authorize food purchases for eligible shoppers. Since cardholders in the program must be preauthorized, EBT helps harden the program against fraud by providing an audit trail of data that the bad guys can only guess at. If they haven't caught you yet, they will. Furthermore, food retailers, online or on site, must be certified by the federal government to ensure they are legitimate retail food sellers.

Many analysts who track the program believe that online sales will help alleviate the problem of so-called food deserts. The Agriculture Department defines a food deserts as an area where at least 500 people or at least 33 percent of the population live more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store. In rural stretches of the country the 1-mile boundary is widened to 10 miles. (see http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2016/09/food_stamp_recipients_should_be_able_to_shop_online.html

The Agriculture Department this year will be testing whether online sales can solve the food-desert issue while maintaining the integrity of the program, its resistant to fraud and abuse.
12:05 PM
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Getting the Most Out of EBT the Next Generation

If past attendance figures are a prologue to the future, about half of all EBT the Next Generation attendees this year will be attending their first NextGen. For first time conference attendees and anyone else who drops by we offer a 30 minute orientation session scheduled at 12 O’clock Monday, November 6th. 

If you are planning to attend your first EBT Rodeo this coming November, we will welcome you at this session.

The purpose of the session is to help you get the most out of the conference. The purpose of this email is to provide some early guidance on the orientation session so that you can be more productive from the time you arrive at the hotel.

As always, EBT professionals with hands-on experience will conduct all sessions with the emphasis on practical information.

The most important information that the orientation session will cover is how NextGen is organized. We begin the content with 4 workshops. These are 1) A primer on how EBT works; 2) Readying your EBT system for a natural disaster or shutdown; 3) Successfully implementing WIC EBT; and 4) The details of implementing an EBT system with SNAP and TANF benefits.

Following the workshops, we launch into 4 plenary sessions and 10 breakout sessions, covering diverse topics that include mobility, data mining, and the future of EBT.  The breakouts also include an update by FNS on some of the hottest issues confronting EBT practitioners, including mobility, Internet shopping, SNAP rules, procurements, and conversions

We also will have 2 EBT roundtables, one SNAP/Cash-centric and the other WIC-facing. In these relaxed settings EBT professionals can exchange opinions on a variety of issues facing the EBT community.

Also on tap are 2 technology showcases featuring demos and discussion of the newest gismos and ideas available to EBT programs.


In addition, spread throughout the conference agenda is over 10 hours of networking time with your fellow attendees and industry vendors.
1:53 PM

EBT A Quarter-Century On A New Electronic Payments Possibility

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Electronic-payments professionals interested in checking out new business opportunities may want to participate in a long established conference set for November 6-8 in Florida. Dubbed EBT the Next Generation it brings together 300 buyers and influencers in this booming EPS segment that uses electronic-payments technology to deliver government payments and benefits.

EBT-the Next Generation offers a banquet of information for EBT and EPS professionals new to the field. This informational feast includes 4 workshops that provide a solid foundation in EBT technology and applications.

These workshops are How EBT Works, Determining if Your EBT System Can Withstand a Natural Disaster, The Elements of a Successful WIC EBT Implementation, The Details of an EBT Program That includes Both SNAP and Cash.

Together, these workshops will provide an understanding of the basic technology of EBT, what needs to be done to ready and harden your EBT system in preparation for the disasters that seem almost inevitable for many states, how to successfully stand up a WIC EBT system, the details of an EBT system that includes both SNAP and cash. These are four of the most important things a well-rounded EBT pro can know.

The purpose of the workshops is to provide our newest colleagues with the information necessary to get their EBT careers off to a good start.

Our seasoned EBT vets can also profit from the workshops and we welcomed your attendance, as well.

As always, out most experienced EBT practitioners present our workshops. 

For 18 years our workshops have proven to be one of our most popular conference features, right next to the open bar, and the all-you-can-eat buffet lunches.


1:25 PM

The Future of EBT

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It is hard to believe, but EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) is now a mature sub-industry within the Electronic Payments industry.  It has been 25 years since the first statewide rollout of EBT in Maryland to replace paper food stamps. 

Congress has mandate that all States use EBT technology to deliver SNAP (formerly food stamps) benefit which they all did by 2002. 

 Now the Woman, Infants and Children program is also well on its way to meetings it own 2020 Congressional order to roll out EBT nationwide. Over 40% of WIC participants are now on EBT. WIC like SNAP is a supplemental nutrition program run by the federal Agriculture Department.

But with the rapid changes in the electronic payment industry, as well as the changes in the providers of EBT services, we wonder what the future holds for this multi-billion dollar business?  Will its future development mirror changes in the overall electronic payments industry.

To help answer this question, this year’s EBT—The Next Generation conference (November 6-8, Sheraton Sand Key, Clearwater Beach, Fl,) has two breakout sessions dedicated to looking at the future of EBT. 

The first session is Strategies for Long-Term EBT Viability.  In this session, the Ag Department’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees both SNAP and WIC will discuss its 2014 Request for Information on EBT. The purpose of the RFI was to identify short and long-term strategies for the Future of EBT and action plans to move these strategies forward. 

The second session is The Future of EBT, where industry players will look 5-10 years down the road to discuss what the grocery shopping experience may possibly look like. From EMV Cards to mobile applications, other payment technology that might also be in use will be explored, along with the capabilities of SNAP and WIC clients in using this technology. 
 gotten such a powerful boost and endorsement.

But with the rapid changes in the electronic payment industry, as well as the changes in the providers of EBT services, we wonder what the future holds for this multi-billion dollar business? A business that has churned out billions of transactions and millions of cardholders. Will its future development mirror changes in the overall electronic payments industry. Will new players be attracted to the business, drawn by its high volumes and relatively stable risk profile.

To help answer these question, this year’s EBT—The Next Generation conference (November 6-8, Sheraton Sand Key, Clearwater Beach, Fl,) has two breakout sessions dedicated to looking at the future of EBT. 

The first session is Strategies for Long-Term EBT Viability.  In this session, the Ag Department’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees both SNAP and WIC will discuss its 2014 Request for Information on EBT. The purpose of the RFI was to identify short and long-term strategies for the Future of EBT and action plans to move these strategies forward. 

The second session is The Future of EBT, where industry players will look 5-10 years down the road to discuss what the grocery shopping experience may possibly look like. From EMV Cards to mobile applications, other payment technology that might also be in use will be explored, along with the capabilities of SNAP and WIC clients in using this technology.  

To attend EBT the Next Generation, visit https://www.atmia.com/conferences/ebt-next-gen/ 


12:40 PM

EBT the Next Generation Overview

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We are in the final steps of putting the agenda together for the 19th annual EBT the Next Generation conference. EBT is a multi-billion dollar business opportunity for companies in the electronic-payments industry, including payments processors, financial institutions, networks, manufacturers of payment-processing terminals, and government-payments consultants.

All buyers and influencers will be there.

The 3-day conference features 10 hours of networking time, an orientation workshop for first-time attendees, 4 beginners workshops, 10 more advanced panel discussions, 2 technology showcases, 4 plenary sessions, and EBT-centric discussions on topics that include data mining, retailer technology and EBT, mobility and EBT, and the future of EBT.

NextGen will be hosted at the beautiful Sheraton Sand Key in scenic Clearwater Beach, Florida, from November 6-8.


Hotel information
1160 Gulf Blvd.
Sheraton Sand Key
Clearwater Beach, FL

1-800-456-7263