BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) in New York State has made an announcement regarding the state’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system. It is anticipated that the system will be offline on Sunday, May 19.
The OTDA has indicated that the downtime is expected to occur between 12:01 a.m. and 11 a.m. However, the actual duration may be shorter or longer than anticipated. For updates, you can visit the OTDA website here.
The OTDA has also revealed that during this period, the state’s EBT system will be transitioning to a new EBT vendor.
A statement on the OTDA website reads, “During the transition, cardholders will not be able to access their EBT benefits. This includes food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals, as well as access to the EBT toll-free customer service helpline, mobile app, and online client portal. We advise you to plan your food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals accordingly.”
Additional information provided by the OTDA on its website includes:
What remains the same?
Your EBT card and PIN, as well as the EBT customer service helpline phone number, will remain unchanged.
Once the transition is complete, cardholders can use their EBT card as usual. There is no need to replace your EBT card or change your PIN. However, for security reasons, cardholders are encouraged to change their PIN frequently to minimize the risk of fraudulent transactions and benefit theft.
The EBT customer service helpline will continue to operate as usual after the transition. Cardholders can call 1-888-328-6399 for assistance with their EBT card. Please note that this phone line will be unavailable on May 19 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
What will change?
After the transition, the ConnectEBT app and ConnectEBT online client portal will no longer be accessible to EBT cardholders. Instead, cardholders will need to download or access the new ebtEDGE app and client portal. This will allow cardholders to check transactions and deposits, freeze and unfreeze their card, and change their PIN.
Details about the new ebtEDGE app and website will be posted here when they become available.
Who will be affected?
This temporary system outage on May 19 will only affect New York EBT cardholders. EBT cardholders from other states will not be impacted by this planned transition and can continue to use their EBT card in New York without any disruption.
No punctuation or grammar, agree
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