Eight States Have Issued Chip-Enabled SNAP Cards

States are upgrading EBT cards with microchips to defend against skimming devices and prevent the theft of food benefits.

Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Semiconductors

Eight States Have Issued Chip-Enabled SNAP Cards

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Eight states have begun issuing chip-enabled EBT cards to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to combat rising benefit theft. New Jersey and Virginia are the latest states to adopt the technology as part of a national effort to secure government assistance.

Why it matters

The upgrade aims to curb the widespread use of card skimming devices that have led to significant financial losses for low-income households. Federal law does not currently mandate that EBT cards contain microchips, leaving the implementation up to individual states.

Eight states have officially issued chip-enabled EBT cards to recipients, with four additional states currently in the process of rolling out the hardware. These cards utilize microchip technology to secure benefits against unauthorized access via skimming hardware.

The players

New Jersey

New Jersey is one of the states that has recently joined the initiative to distribute chip-enabled cards to SNAP beneficiaries.

Virginia

Virginia is among the latest states to adopt microchip-enhanced EBT cards to help secure recipient funds from theft.

The details

States are distributing the upgraded cards to provide a robust physical defense against skimming devices that capture card data. While eight states have already deployed the new cards, additional jurisdictions are preparing for similar transitions to prevent the ongoing theft of taxpayer-funded benefits.

Over $320 million was stolen between October 2022 and December 2024.
This report was published on September 21, 2026.
New York expects to issue chip-enabled cards in early 2027.

The Tech Race

This transition replaces legacy magnetic-stripe EBT cards that lack modern security features with chip-based technology to stop sophisticated fraud. It represents a broader effort to modernize state government infrastructure against the specific threat of physical skimming devices.

SNAP recipients in participating states will receive more secure cards that are resistant to common skimming theft. This reduces the risk of having monthly food benefits drained by criminals using illicit card-reading devices.

The takeaway

The move toward chip-enabled cards highlights the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between government agencies and criminal skimming operations. Recipients in states yet to transition should continue to monitor their account activity closely for suspicious transactions.