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WIC Direct - The EBT Solution
WIC Direct is the groundbreaking, online WIC EBT system developed by CDP, Inc. in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service and the Kentucky WIC Program. WIC Direct streamlines the existing WIC paper food instrument system for participants, retailers, and program staff through the use of modern, web-based technologies. Instead of paper benefit instruments, WIC participants use magnetic stripe cards in the checkout lane to obtain food benefits. The system improves in-lane flow at retail locations, provides better tracking of WIC benefit balances, and reduces paperwork for program staff. Additionally, WIC Direct expedites end-of day, electronic reconciliation and enhances reporting capabilities for retailers and WIC program staff on both the state and national levels.
Transferrable and Affordable
The WIC Direct System is meeting one of the primary goals of the Kentucky project—to be a transferrable, affordable online WIC EBT system that other states or WIC authorities can operate—either in-house or outsourced—within their NSA grant. Recent statistics from the Kentucky pilot area indicate that program food costs have been reduced by almost $10 per participant. This reduction of food costs can largely be attributed to the fact that the WIC Direct System allows participants to shop as often as they wish and purchase as many or as few food products as they wish.
From the outset of the project, retailers expressed their desire to have ample time to integrate WIC Direct with their current ECR systems to reduce costs. Early project conference calls with retailers included topics such as the pilot date set for 2009, technical requirements for integration, system interfaces, WIC pricing, APLs and integrated system configuration. The WIC Direct team recognized that in an integrated system the interactions between components are very complex, and that the additional transaction components of a retailer’s point-of-sale (POS) system required the addition of complex transaction rules. Therefore, it was important to establish and publish these rules early in the project.
The WIC Direct team now has a dedicated Retail Integration Manager who is ready to assist retailers that may be interested in integration. For more information contact Bob Hoblit, Retail Integration Manager, at bob.hoblit@wicdirectsystem.com or (919) 740-5002. For additional information, see the “For Retailers” section of this website.
Moving Forward—Eleven Months of Pilot
Two counties in south-central Kentucky, Barren and Warren, were selected to pilot the Kentucky Online WIC EBT System in 2009. The two counties serve approximately 5,000 WIC participants. Twenty-nine stores participated in the pilot , some using stand-beside POS devices to process WIC transactions, some using a solution that is integrated with their ECR system. Wal-Mart, Kroger, Houchens, Food Lion, and Save-A-Lot, grocery chains; Ely Drug Store and CVS Pharmacies; and Garrett’s Grocery, Phillips IGA and Cole’s Super Saver participated in the Kentucky pilot.
Kentucky Pilot Expands
The WIC Direct System was deployed in six Kentucky counties in March 2010. In preparation for pilot expansion, WIC Direct employees conducted training for pilot-area retailers on both the WIC Direct System and on the use of the point-of-sale, stand-beside equipment used to process WIC transactions in grocery stores. POS stand-beside equipment was installed in 15 retail locations in the pilot area. WIC Direct was deployed in clinics in Edmonson, Butler, Logan, Metcalfe, Hart, and Simpson Counties.
✓ Pilot Statistics as of August 2, 2010
- Total Money Processed - $2,725,436.17
- Direct Connect - $1,372,116.68
- Gateway - $1,353,319.49
- 7,841 Households
- 7,614 Cards Issued
- 106 Merchants
- 10 Clinics Issuing Cards
- 66,182 CVB (Cash Value Benefit) Transactions for $200,387
- 259,481 Approved Retail Transactions
- Purchases - 117,956
- Balance Inquiries - 141,172
- Void/Reversal - 353
- Largest Purchase $789.60
- Highest Volume Day $20,889.86
The Kentucky Online WIC EBT project is rolling out to new counties in Western Kenucky this summer. Training has been conducted at health departments in Henderson, Union, Webster, Providence, and Ohio Counties and is scheduled for Hancock, McLean, and Daviess Counties and OASIS and Foust satellite clinics in August.
WIC Direct at the Clinics
The first WIC Direct clinic implementation began in Barren County in early August 2009 and was comparatively trouble free, particularly in the areas of benefit issuance and card issuance. The Warren County pilot began in September with no significant issues. Staff members at both clinics have learned the online system very quickly and have been pleased at how easy it is to use the new system. In the Spring of 2010, the system was deployed in six additional clinics.
✓ Resolving Issues
Clinic staff members are enthusiastic about two features of the WIC Direct System. The “Account Search” feature gives them the ability look up a specific account and view all transactions associated with that account. They can see exactly when a WIC purchase was made and exactly what was purchased. For instance, if a participant believes that they should have a CVB (cash value benefit for fresh fruits and vegetables) benefit balance of $5.50, but their benefit balance receipt shows a balance of only 50 cents, a clinic staff member can quickly view that account to resolve the issue, and then can send the participant the account information.
✓ Issuing Benefits
In the Kentucky project, benefits are issued to a “household” (composed of 1 or more persons) rather than to individuals. Benefits for that household are aggregated in a single account and accessed via a single WIC EBT card. In day-to-day operations at a busy clinic, this is a huge time saver for clinic staff. Instead of issuing benefits for multiple individuals—which required filling out information on several screens for each participant—busy reception clerks can now issue benefits for a whole household rather than for multiple individuals.
Participants and WIC Direct
Thus far, WIC EBT participants have been very receptive to WIC Direct. In fact, when given the choice, participants have opted to use a WIC EBT card rather than paper checks. The few participants who had a problem using their WIC EBT card were offered the option of going back to paper checks for a short period of time. In all cases, the participants chose to keep the WIC EBT card.
✓ Up-to-Date Benefit Balances
In the WIC Direct System , participants can “check their benefit shopping list” before they make purchases—either at the clinic or in-lane at a retail location. To check their balance, they simply swipe their card, enter their PIN, and a Benefit Balance Receipt is printed. The receipts show the current month’s benefits—although in Kentucky, benefits are issued for 3 months at a time. When a benefit period ends, the participant’s benefit balance receipt will automatically reflect the next benefit period.
✓ Shopping Flexibility
Participants have been very enthusiastic about the new system, particularly their newfound “shopping flexibility”. In the WIC Direct System, the WIC participant has the flexibility to purchase as many or as few items from their benefit list as they choose and at any time during the benefit period. Under the old paper system, paper checks were issued with specific quantities of items, e.g., 3 gallons of milk, 16 ounces (1 loaf) of bread and 1 pound of cheese, which resulted in quantities of 9 gallons of milk, 3 loaves of bread and 3 pounds of cheese when redeeming paper checks for three household participants. With the paper system, there was no option available if a participant wanted to purchase only 1 gallon of milk during a shopping trip. The participant had to purchase the entire quantity on the paper check at one time or forfeit the remaining balance. In one case, a participant stated she had resorted to purchasing and freezing several gallons of milk so milk benefits would not be lost or not spoil before they could be consumed. The shopping flexibility of the WIC Direct System resolves these issues.
Retailers and WIC Direct
✓ Mixed Basket and WIC Direct
Both WIC participants and the retailers quickly reaped the benefits of WIC Direct’s mixed basket feature. WIC-eligible items do not have to be separated from other purchases in the checkout lane because in mixed basket, the “system” separates the items, rather than the cashier, greatly reducing time in-lane. Cashiers are no longer the in-store “WIC police”, enforcing program policy and regulations. WIC shoppers no longer have to separate WIC-authorized items from non-WIC items, a convenience to the WIC shopper and the other shoppers waiting in the checkout lane.
✓ Compatible With Other Online WIC EBT Systems
From the outset, the Kentucky project team invited states such as Michigan—which is running an online WIC EBT system—to participate in conference calls and information exchanges to ensure that the Kentucky solution would be compatible with existing solutions.
Members of the WIC Direct team are participating in a larger work group that is tasked with refining the X9.93 standard and developing a set of operating rules for WIC EBT. These efforts are aimed at addressing the retailer’s concern that they won’t have to build 87 (the current number of WIC authorities) different forms of WIC integration into their system. Minor differences may still exist between systems. However, these differences should be known and easily handled via parameter configuration rather than differing software versions.
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