Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (SEBT) Services

SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER (SEBT) SERVICES

 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

The OTDA is issuing this RFI to assess the feasibility of procuring a vendor to provide Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT or SEBT) services as a stand-alone service separate from the SNAP/TA EBT system (Regular EBT). Summer EBT is a federal program run by OTDA to provide summer meal payments to school age children. For 2025, OTDA estimates this will help 2 million children representing about $268.8 million.

 Experienced and interested firms are invited to submit responses and proposed quotes to procurements@otda.ny.gov  This information will be for the purpose of educating OTDA as to the capabilities of interested firms to meet or exceed OTDA's needs.  This RFI may result in OTDA issuing a future procurement opportunity, however the RFI itself will not result in a contract.

The Summer EBT services would include setting up a system to distribute benefits to eligible participants, allocating benefits to cards or another payment method used only to purchase eligible items at SNAP authorized retailers, and processing Summer EBT benefit transactions promptly and accurately. 

The stand-alone Summer EBT program must comply with 42 U.S.C. Section 1762, 7CFR Part 292, and all other applicable federal law, regulations and policies.

The objectives of this RFI are to:

1. Develop a general understanding of vendor system capabilities across the marketplace for the services requested,
2. Determine whether it is feasible to run two systems (Regular EBT and SEBT), the risks of having two EBT systems, and if feasible, provide a description of the proposed solution for a standalone SEBT,
3. Identify any equipment requirements and associated services and support for the services,
4. Establish the timeline for implementation of the standalone SEBT system,
5. Discern through cost proposals the expected costs for the services.

 Description of Services

A. Stand-alone Summer EBT System

 Entities would provide and implement a Summer EBT system incorporating industry best practices in information security which would safeguard client data and include a disaster and recovery backup plan. The Summer EBT system should be configured so the SEBT benefits would be applied as part of daily or monthly benefit files, as requested by OTDA. Benefits applied to the system would be at a household level for spending purposes.

 Any proposed payment solution for distributing and allocating the benefits must include security features to mitigate fraud, skimming, and to help safeguard client transactions including solutions like PIN, Phone Lock, Online Lock, or others.

 OTDA currently elects to have SEBT benefits issued as a one-time payment per program year. OTDA would reserve the option of electing to have the benefits issued in three payments.

 Benefits would expire 122 days after a SEBT benefit becomes available. Once the SEBT benefit reached the expiration date/time (122 days), the recipient would no longer be allowed to use the remaining amount in any transaction.

 SEBT cases would be established and accepted for creation through agreed upon mechanisms, such as web services and/or batch files.

 Vendors would have a solution, such as browser-based administrative terminal, for providing real-time access for benefit management of the SEBT benefits to both OTDA and the benefit recipients. Such a solution would include multi-level access controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can process administrative transactions or access Cardholder account information. It would also include the ability to set up and maintain SEBT accounts, change card status and issue cards, and access client benefit history and case actions.

B. Reports

 The vendor would provide OTDA reports of summarized SEBT benefits issued and posted.

C. Customer Support

 Vendors would be required to manage a 24/7/365 customer service line with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and “Live Agent” call center support both for recipients and Merchant/authorized retailers.

 SEBT call activity would be tracked and reported on.

D. Settlement

 The vendor would setup the SEBT Benefits to settle from a State owned, managed, and funded bank account. The vendor would set up the system for the vendor to debit the account for the amount as part of settlement through an Automated Clearing House.

E.  Information Security Requirements

All Summer EBT solutions and services must follow NYS OTDA, NYS CISO, and NYS ITS Policies. Client support solutions, IVR systems, and “Live Agent” support must be performed from within CONUS. At no time will access directly or indirectly be allowed from outside CONUS. Data and systems must be located, stored, accessed, and operated within the continental united states (CONUS), meaning the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia. Data shall be encrypted at rest and in transit.

 How to Apply

Vendors capable of providing the requested services are asked to provide the following:

• Can you provide a stand-alone SEBT service?
• If yes, please provide a description of your service.  
• Does your system need to integrate with existing NY state systems?  Other state systems? If necessary, can your system integrate with existing state or local benefit systems?  Please provide requirements, risks and details, including technology or equipment needs.
• How long would it take to implement your services?
• What are your pricing and cost structures?

 Response should be submitted via email to procurements@otda.ny.gov no later than 3:00 PM on February 28, 2025.  This is a Request for Information only and no award will be made from this RFI.