Supermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores - which have been authorized for food stamp acceptance by the USDA-FNS - are the primary target markets for the food stamp EBT program.

The government mandated that every state in the United States implement an EBT program by 2002, and most states have already complied. The most well known instance of EBT is the food stamp program. This program was influenced several years ago by the USDA requiring that states switch from paper food stamps to electronic transfer. Consumers can swipe a debit card in the debit card terminal, instead of keeping up with paper coupons. 42 states are fully online with EBT for food stamps and most of the rest are pending.

Merchants in nearly every state now have the opportunity to accept customer payments via an EBT card. This payment option enables customers to access funds electronically from their government-authorized food stamp or cash benefit accounts. The EBT card eliminates paper coupons and checks for these programs, which annually account for $500 billion in government-dispersed benefits.

EBT cards generally are linked to a food stamp and / or cash benefits account. EBT cards can be linked to two accounts - a checking and a savings account.