Fiserv Inc. is enabling the acceptance of electronic benefits transfer payments in support of an online purchasing pilot from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The announcement comes amid a rapid increase in demand for online ordering amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however SNAP recipients have historically only been allowed to purchase at the grocery story point-of-sale and make online purchases, according to a press release.

"Accelerating the acceptance of online EBT payments is one of several initiatives Fiserv is prioritizing to help our clients better serve their customers through digital channels," Nandan Sheth, head of global digital commerce at Fiserv, said in the release. "The ability for grocers to enable safe and secure ecommerce, for all of their customer segments, remains critically important to their success."

Fiserv offers a proprietary PIN-on-glass technology that allows grocers to use their PIN-code acceptance required for SNAP purchases to an online digital transaction where customers can confirm their purchases. 

The SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot is operated by Food and Nutrition Services, an agency under the USDA. The pilot originally launched in April 2019, but has since expanded to Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington. Other states have been approved to be added by June, including Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Vermont.