Does Safeway take EBT?- Its Benefits

Introduction: Safeway is a supermarket chain of American origin that was founded in the year 1915 by Marion Skaggs. The company specializes in selling grocery products, food items, and general merchandise stuff. Presently, Safeway has as many as 900 locations across the United States with a presence in 17 states. Throughout its century-old history, the company has made a name for itself by selling quality products at very affordable prices. Safeway also owns notable brands such as Starbucks and Deli. As such, it is a common occurrence that Safeway locations also have a Starbucks cafe or a Deli’s store nearby. Let’s know ‘Does Safeway take EBT?’

Safeway accepts EBT as a mode of payment at all of their physical stores and also, for online purchases. Additionally, Safeway also accepts all other popular payment modes such as credit/debit cards, third-party apps such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, Afterpay, Affirm, etc.

Procedure to pay using EBT at Safeway:

Customers need to follow these simple steps to be paying through EBT at a Safeway store:

1. Select the product to be purchased
2. Proceed to the payments page and select EBT as the option. In case of offline transactions, tell the executive that you want to pay through EBT
3. Finalize the card details and complete the payment
4. A confirmation is sent as soon as the payment is made about the expense and the money remaining in the account

If the customers face any difficulties while paying through EBT at Safeway, they can contact the customer care executives at the company.

Benefits of using EBT to pay at Safeway:

There are several advantages of paying using EBT at Safeway – both, for the customers and the company itself. A few of them include:

1. It makes it very easy for one to be able to redeem his SNAP benefits without any hassle
2. The process is very simple and even those unacquainted with digital payments will find the EBT cards easy to use
3. The payments are very safe and users need not worry about frauds
4. The government can also keep a track of every person’s spending much more easily as all it has to do is to maintain a database

Items that can/cannot be purchased using EBT at Safeway: Only those items that come under SNAP can be purchased using EBT. Such items include: 

1. Fresh fruits and vegetables
2. Instant food items (such as noodles, chicken, etc.) 
3. Poultry items (such as eggs, chicken)
4. Dairy products (such as milk, cheese, curd)
5. Cereals, bread, etc.
6. Non-alcoholic beverages 

On the other hand, items that do not come directly under the SNAP scheme cannot be purchased using the EBT benefits. Such items include:

1. Beer, wine, or any other alcoholic beverage
2. Cigarettes or any other tobacco products

It must be noted that neither of the lists is exhaustive and may update from time to time.

Conclusion:

We have seen in this article that Safeway takes EBT as a form of payment at all of their online and offline stores. However, there are a few items that cannot be purchased using EBT cards. The benefits of paying using EBT have also been discussed in the article. Keeping everything in mind, it is no surprise really that users have loved the idea of EBT cards being accepted at the stores. A survey shows that as many as 8% of the transactions at Safeway stores are made using EBT cards last year.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Question. What is Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)?

Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is a system that is being used by government agencies to help people, from lower and middle-lower income families, claim their SNAP benefits easily and in a much smoother way. The EBT cards look similar to credit/debit cards, and the government can keep a note of the amount being spent. The introduction of EBT has made the SNAP procedure much less troublesome on the side of the retailers and the customers as well.

Question. What are the other options to pay at Safeway stores?

In addition to EBT, Safeway accepts all of the major modes of payment at their stores. Credit and debit cards from VISA, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Additionally, “Buy Now, pay later” services such as Affirm and Afterpay can be used for payment provided a certain minimum amount is satisfied. Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal are also accepted. It must be noted that these options can be availed for both, online and offline payments.

Question. What are a few major stores that accept EBT?

Most of the major stores in the US accept EBT as a mode of payment nowadays. Supermarkets and other big stores such as Costco, Kroger, Walmart, and Aldi accept EBT cards for payment. Fast-food restaurant chains such as KFC, Domino’s Pizza, Subway, and Taco Bell also accept EBT cards. The government has found great success with its idea of introducing the EBT cards for SNAP.