One thing you may notice when checking out with SNAP goods in the cart is that your weighed items have a 10% upcharge, as shown in the tooltip below. Why does this exist? Let’s discuss.
EBT cards and credit/debit cards have several notable differences. One of the most important differences is that EBT cards cannot have an authorization hold — a purchase state where the payment processor will reserve funds on the customer’s card/bank, before later capturing and transferring the funds.
When a credit/debit purchase is made on Rosie, we put a hold on the card for the estimated order total. Then, when the order is marked ready, we capture the exact amount of the order. This allows us to have a final total that can be higher or lower than the estimated total, typically due to substitutions or random weight items.
As EBT cards don’t allow for an authorization hold, when you check out with their EBT card, those funds are immediately retrieved from the card. The retailer cannot capture additional funds from the EBT card in the case that weighed items or substitutions raise the cost of SNAP goods above the amount the you were shown in checkout. However, if the final cost of SNAP goods are lower than the total shown to you during checkout, Rosie will automatically refund the difference between the initial and final SNAP totals.
How does this relate to weighed items? Rare is the case where you request 1 lb of chicken breast, and the retailer can find a 1 lb pack of chicken breast. It’s a near certainty that they’ll find a package slightly heavier or lighter.
Because of this, FNS has allowed Rosie Retailers to charge an additional 10% on weighed items paid with SNAP. This will allow retailers the ability to pick items that are slightly (10%) heavier than the you requested, and any difference between the final weighed item value and the original value + buffer will be refunded to the your EBT card automatically.
In summary, FNS has allowed Rosie to upcharge weighed items by 10% with the expectation that weighed items may be slightly lighter or heavier than the originally requested quantity, and we can refund any difference between the price paid during checkout and the final price of the item.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Rosie Support at support@rosieapp.com.