N.J. Admin. Code § 10:88-3.1

Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 1, January 6, 2025

Section 10:88-3.1 - Obtaining benefits

(a) In Families First, each household shall receive its public assistance benefits by using a Families First card to access benefits at a location authorized to perform Families First transactions. The method by which the payee obtains benefits varies, dependent on whether the benefits are cash or NJ SNAP. While both cash and NJ SNAP benefits are accessed with one Families First card, NJ SNAP and cash benefits are maintained within separate accounts in the Families First automated system.

(b) Cash benefits shall be obtained at ATMs and/or POS locations that display the Quest(R) mark.

1. After three free cash ATM withdrawals in a calendar month, a $ 0.40 transaction fee will be deducted from the recipient's cash account for each subsequent ATM cash withdrawal. No transaction fees will be assessed for transactions at POS devices.

(c) NJ SNAP benefits shall be accessed at retailers authorized by USDA/FNS to participate in SNAP. Those retailers may accept Families First transactions on their own commercial POS equipment or on POS devices supplied by the State's EBT contractor, which allow each payee to debit his or her Families First NJ SNAP account by the amount of the eligible food purchase. The payee shall be required to use his or her PIN in order to make an NJ SNAP purchase, unless the retailer's access to validate the transaction on-line is temporarily disrupted. In that case, the retailer shall call the toll free EBT retailer call center telephone number to obtain an authorization to allow an off-line manual voucher transaction to occur.

(d) NJ SNAP benefits shall not be converted into cash.

(e) Families First cash benefits may be used to purchase food or non-NJ SNAP-eligible items at FNS authorized retailers who have agreed to accept Families First cash transactions. Those retailers may also allow cash withdrawals at the POS. The amount of cash that can be withdrawn during one transaction shall be dependent upon the individual retailer's contract with the State's EBT contractor; however, cash back limits for Families First cardholders must be the same as those for commercial customers.

(f) In the event that the State's EBT contractor's database is inaccessible and a retailer cannot access the Families First system to determine whether a household has sufficient funds in the household's Families First account to make a purchase with NJ SNAP benefits, the household shall be allowed to make a $ 50.00 maximum purchase per day. The emergency purchase shall be documented by an off-line voucher completed by the retailer and signed by the Families First payee.

(g) Families First transactions that are performed at ATMs or POS devices shall generate receipts containing the truncated PAN, the date and location of the transaction and the amount of the transaction. For NJ SNAP transactions all POS terminal receipts shall display the account balance.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:88-3.1

Amended by 46 N.J.R. 2156(a), effective 11/3/2014.

Amended by 55 N.J.R. 1335(a), effective 7/3/2023