Nationwide SNAP, EBT outage left millions unable to make payments at retail stores, some systems restored
The South Carolina Department of Social Services said issue was due to vendor outage
A nationwide outage was reported on Sunday with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, leaving more than a million people without the ability to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to make payments at retail stores.
Agencies in Massachusets and South Carolina reported on Sunday that customers are unable to make purchases with their EBT cards.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services tweeted Sunday that it is aware of processing issues of EBT cards due to "a third party processor outage impacting programs in multiple states."
The department later tweeted that all systems were restored, resolving the processing issues.
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A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which are used by state welfare departments to issue benefits, is displayed at a grocery store in Oakland, California, on Dec. 4, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Massachusets Department of Transitional Assistance also said in a tweet that EBT card processing in the state was affected but later said that the issue was resolved.
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DownDetector reported a substantial increase in EBT card outages on Sunday morning and early afternoon, but they decreased throughout the afternoon.
FOX Business reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture for comment.