In this first section we will discuss the benefits of ewic and how ewic issuance and redemption works compared to the current paper environment.

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5 In this first section we will discuss the benefits of ewic and how ewic issuance and redemption works compared to the current paper environment. 5

6 There has been more than 20 years of ewic activity. The majority of the implementations have occurred in the last 10 years. 6

7 This slide addresses the benefits to the stakeholders of the WIC Program specifically vendors. While there are changes involved in moving to EBT, there are significant benefits. 7

8 This slide addresses the benefits to the stakeholders of the WIC Program specifically participants. While there are changes involved in moving to EBT, there are significant benefits. 8

9 This slide addresses the benefits to the stakeholders of the WIC Program specifically WIC staff. While there are changes involved in moving to EBT, there are significant benefits. 9

10 Benefit issuance in an ewic system is different from in the current environment. In a paper system, foods are represented by what is printed on a paper check, but in ewic that information is represented by a computerized code than can be understood by the WIC information system, the ewic host system, and the retail systems. Another key difference between the issuance processes is that within a paper environment, checks are issued individually to each participant meaning that a household will receive multiple checks for each member of the household that they will have to maintain and use over the next few months. With ewic, all participants in a household are still issued benefits individually, but the benefits are combined or aggregated into one account for the household. This means that the household will receive one card that can been used to access all members benefits. 10

11 In order for the systems to understand the benefit issuance information, a coding system has been developed. The coding system takes the information previously printed on checks and converts it into categories and subcategories. A category (or cat), is the high level food group. These are things like whole milk, low fat/fat free milk, cheese, eggs, legumes (beans/peas/peanut butter), infant formula, cereal, etc. A subcategory (or subcat) is the next level down which represents the specific types of food in a cat. For example in low fat/fat free milk there are subcats for 1%, skim, lactose free, powdered, evaporated, etc. Similarly the cat for legumes breaks down into the subcats of peanut butter, dried beans/peas, and canned beans. 11

12 For each subcat a unit of measure must be assigned so that when the benefits are issued, the amount issued or quantity is associated with a specific unit of measure. We will see later when we talk about redemption how food items or, actually, the food item UPCs are also associated with cat/subcats and unit of measure. There are a number of unit of measure options, but these are some of the ones that are typically used. 12

13 USDA FNS maintains a standard list of cats/subcats for use by WIC state agencies. The table in this slide provides a snapshot of the list. The full list can be found on the USDA FNS web site at States are encouraged to use the standard list, but are able to make some state specific modifications to address program differences or cost containment methodologies. 13

14 Unlike a SNAP balance which is a single dollar amount, a WIC balance is actually a series of sub-balances by subcat. This slide provides an example of how a WIC balance might appear. 14

15 As mentioned in the previous slide, under ewic benefits among individuals within a household are combined into a single account. This slide addresses the benefits and requirements associated with benefit aggregation. The reason it is necessary for benefits of all household members to be have the same end date is to reduce confusion about the account balance. If members benefits expired and new ones loaded at different times during the month it would make it much more difficult for the household to keep track of their balance. 15

16 For the purchase of fruits and vegetables, participants will still receive a benefit representing a dollar value as they do in the paper system. In EBT, rather than referring to this as a fruit and vegetable check, it is call a fruit and vegetable benefit (FVB). This benefit is treated like all other food benefits, it is issued based on a cat/subcat and unit of measure which in this case is dollars and cents. 16

17 When we talk about redemption in ewic, it is always helpful to compare to the current paper environment. In this slide, the differences between the two approaches are identified. As you will see, the paper environment relies on the casher to validate the transaction information, while in the ewic environment this is handled by the ewic system. It is important to note that while the system will take over this responsibility, the cashiers should still be knowledgeable about the WIC food list in order to troubleshoot issues or explain to customers why a product they are trying to buy is not being paid by their ewic card. 17

18 As we discussed with issuance, for ewic redemption we had to find a way to code the food items so that they could be understood by the systems involved. The same cat/subcat system is used to do this. Every WIC state agency maintains a food list. When they move into EBT they must collect all of the UPCs associated with the products on that food list and code associated them with an ewic cat, subcat and unit of measure as well assign a quantity. This data is added to an electronic file called the approved products list or APL. The data in this file is maintained by the state agency and made available to vendors by the EBT system for download. Retail systems use this file as part of the transaction to identify WIC authorized vs. non-wic items. The file also contains all of the allowed PLUs for WIC fruits and vegetables. 18

19 In the next section we will walk through the aspects of ewic transactions. 19

20 Before discussing how ewic transactions work, it is important to understand how they are different from a SNAP EBT transaction. As mentioned previously, ewic differs from SNAP, because the account tracks a series of balances of quantity where SNAP is a single dollar value balance. 20

21 Please note, this slide is not intended to be legible. It presents a graphical comparison that depicts how compared to a SNAP transaction, ewic is more complicated with more steps involved. We will talk more about the specific steps of an ewic transaction those steps on a later slide. 21

22 There are a number of ewic transactions which are similar to SNAP EBT. One addition is a pre-purchase balance inquiry which we will describe when we walk through a purchase transaction a little later. 22

23 There are a number of aspects of an ewic transaction. The key ones have been provided on this slide. Some of these are similar to SNAP and others are additional steps required to process the more complicated ewic transaction. We will address these items in the next two slides as we walk through a purchase transaction. 23

24 This slide and the next provide the steps for completing an ewic purchase transaction. The steps provided may occur in a different order, for example, the card swipe and PIN entry may come before items are scanned into the system or they may come after depending on the retail system used. One of the unique features of an ewic transaction that is different from SNAP is that the card balance is obtained prior to the submission of the purchase transaction. This, along with the APL, is used to determine if the item can be purchased by the cardholder. Each food item UPC or PLU that the cardholder is attempting to purchase with their WIC benefits is compared to the APL to see if it is a WIC approved item and then compared to the account balance to see if there are enough benefits to purchase it. If it meets these criteria, the item along and the price associated with it will be added to the purchase transaction message. At the end of the process, before the message is sent, any coupons or discounts are also captured. 24

25 After all of the items and discounts are captured, the retail system will transmit the purchase transaction to the ewic system. This does not require the cardholder to reenter the PIN. The PIN is only enter once and is used for both the pre-purchase balance inquiry and the purchase. When the ewic system receives the transaction message, it will perform a number of validations and processes. This includes validating the card number, PIN and vendor ID to ensure that they are correct and/or in an active status. The ewic system will then compare the items in the transaction to the state agency s APL and the cardholder s account balance to make sure that the items can be purchases. This may seem like a repeat of the process performed by the retail system, and it is. However it is a double-check or a validation since the ewic system has the most up-to-date information. The process accounts for any changes that may have been made to the APL (if the vendor for some reason does not have the latest version) or there has been a balance change since the balance inquiry (generally unlikely given the short time span, but possible). The ewic system also compares the item prices submitted with the purchase transaction with the established item Not to Exceed (NTE) amounts. If the submitted price is over the NTE, the system will automatically adjust the payment amount for the item to the NTE amount. After these processes are complete, the ewic system will determine the final paid amount and transmit a response message to the retail system. The response message provides information on the paid amount of each item so that NTE adjustments can be identified, the total amount for the transaction, the update balance for the account and the expiration date of that balance. 25

26 The response message provides information on the paid amount of each item so that NTE adjustments can be identified, the total amount for the transaction, the update balance for the account and the expiration date of that balance. 26

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28 In the next section we will cover the retail system alternatives available in ewic. 28

29 In order for a vendor to accept an ewic card, they must have a retail system that can process ewic transactions. This slide identifies the requirements for the vendor and their system. 29

30 ewic enabled retail systems fall into two categories: stand-beside and integrated. We will address each on the following slides. 30

31 Simply put, integrated systems are ones in which ewic is added as an additional tender type to an existing system that already supports credit, debit and EBT. Because a number of states have already deployed ewic, large number of electronic cash register systems for either chains or commercial off the shelf products have added ewic functionality. Of course, course there are still systems that are not yet integrated. The integrated approach is the cleanest most streamlined approach to implementing ewic. By supporting ewic in the vendor s existing system it will better fit into lane operations and settlement processing. One thing that vendors need to consider with integration particularly if development is needed to support the functionality in their system, are any development time frames that are needed compared to when the state agency plans to implement the system. Also with some chains or retail systems there may be only certain windows when software updates are released so these schedules also need to be considered. 31

32 The list on this slide is a brief listing of the retail systems that have already been integrated for ewic. This is not an exhaustive list, there may be additional systems that have been integrated that have not been captured here. 32

33 The alternative to an integrated system is to have a stand-beside point-of-sale (POS) device which is separate from and does not communicate with the electronic cash register system. When using this device, the cashier will have to both enter/scan the item into the cash register system and then into the stand-beside POS. The price for the item also must be key entered into the stand-beside POS. Because the device is separate from systems used for other tender type processing, payments for transactions through the stand-beside POS are deposited separately. This kind of device is generally used in smaller stores and those with cash registers that cannot be integrated. Larger stores have used these types of devices temporarily while they were process of integration. Similar to changes in the SNAP regulations, WIC is anticipating regulations stating that state agencies will not be allowed to provide stand-beside POS devices to vendors free of charge once the ewic system is operational state-wide, but it may be possible that they could be provided during the pilot and rollout phases. 33

34 The state agency is in the early stages of their ewic project. The following slides discuss the next steps in the project. 34

35 Before any state agency can implement an ewic system, they must complete a number of planning activities and receive approvals from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. At a high level these activities are listed in this slide. This orientation presentation is also part of these activities to make sure that Program stakeholders are aware of the project and technology associated and to keep stakeholders engaged in the process. 35

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