The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) issued an update about the replacement of current EBT cards with chip/tap cards. This is an update to ACWDL June 6, 2022, summarized here.
Replacement of county administrative equipment was completed in Summer, 2024. Mass replacement of all current EBT cards with chip/tap cards is expected to begin in early 2025.
The new cards will be mailed in three phases. The first phase will be combined CalWORKs and CalFresh cases, GA, RCA, TCVAP, CAPI and LIHEAP.
SunBucks and Women, Infants and Children benefits will not be moved to the new chip/tap cards.
Counties must continue to order the current magnetic stripe cards and equipment to ensure that they remain fully stocked until chip/tap cards are deployed.
Prior to mass mailing of the chip/tap cards, counties will get a list of unhoused cardholders who have their mailing address listed as the county welfare department. The list is intended to support triage for those clients.
During either the Semi-Annual Report or Recertification/Redetermination interview, county workers should tell cardholders to promptly activate their new cards. One successful transaction with the new card will deactivate the old card.
Cardholders will have 180 days after issuance of the chip/tap card to activate it before the old card becomes unusable. (ACWDL December 19, 2024.)