1. Preparing for eWIC Rollout
Kansas eWIC
Preparing for eWIC Rollout
Welcome everyone! We really appreciate you taking the time to participate in our eWIC webinar and hope you find this information helpful as we move forward with eWIC.
The presenters for this webinar be: Janna Gunckle, who is a vendor manager with the state agency, Jim Chilcoat with CDP, and me – I’m Lisa Long, and I’m a new vendor manager with the state agency.
HOUSEKEEPING ITEM: Your line is currently placed on mute so we can avoid background noises during this presentation. There will be an opportunity for questions after the presentation. In order to ask a question, you can just type your question in the question box and hit send.

2. AGENDA Upcoming Events eWIC Transactions & Understanding Receipts
Contract Addendum (eWIC)
Certification/Live Shopping
Rollout Schedule
Education Buys
eWIC Transactions & Understanding Receipts
Lessons Learned
Client Education
Mapping Produce and Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
Some of the things we’re going to cover today are:
The contract addendum; the level 3 certification process and live shopping and what’s involved in that; the rollout schedule; and what occurs during an education buy
We will also review eWIC transactions and understanding eWIC receipts; things we’ve learned during the pilot; information that our local clinics will review with our clients; Jim will cover mapping product and tips. And we’ll review questions that are frequently asked.

3. Upcoming Events
Now!
Vendor Contract Addendum (eWIC)
Make sure to send your signed Vendor Contract Addendum to the state WIC office by December 29, 2017.
Addendums can be:
Faxed
Scanned & ed-
Mailed- Nutrition & WIC Services
1000 SW Jackson, Ste 220
Topeka, KS 66612
One of the things that’s pretty urgent right now is the vendor contract addendum for eWIC. We ed or mailed the Vendor contracts in November. We really need these back by December 29 so if you haven’t had a chance to return them, please, please take few minutes to get these back to me. There are ____85____ that haven’t been returned. My contact information is here on the screen.

4. Upcoming Events Level III Certification/Live Shopping
Purpose = to ensure stores’ register systems are able to process eWIC transactions
Prior to rollout, State WIC, Local Agency and/or contractor staff will be visiting stores to conduct a live transaction.
Stores must pass the certification before accepting eWIC
Guidance materials will be provided
New eWIC door decals will be provided
One of the things that will begin very soon is our level 3 certification process and live shopping. We’ll be conducting these to make sure that the store’s register systems are able to process eWIC transactions.
We’ll be doing these prior to each region’s rollout and the folks that will be doing these will be state agency staff, local agency staff and contracting staff or a combination of these 3.
Every store MUST pass this certification process before being able to accept eWIC.
Some of the guidance material we’ll provide are Quick Tips for Cashiers which will be used at the register; we’ll provide a Quick reference sheet, and a “Who Do I Call” information sheet which provides guidance about who to contact for particular kinds of issues.
We’ll also be providing door decals. During the rollout, both the check and eWIC decals need to be posted unless you don’t have enough rool for both. If there’s not enough room, you can just use the eWIC decal.

5. Upcoming Events Level III Certification/Live Shopping
At a minimum, live shopping will included:
Balance inquiry
Prints a customers eWIC balance outside of the transaction
Void w/ non-WIC item included
POS replaced benefit back into the customer’s account
CVB/FVB
POS appropriately applied dollar amount of CVB/FVB to the customer’s account
Total redemption
Completing the purchase and verifying it is correct
Verifying the correct store is credited/paid
Client receipt
Accurately reflects foods redeemed and balance remaining after the transaction
During this process we’ll conduct a balance inquiry which prints the eWIC balance outside of the actual transaction;
we’ll do a void with a non-WIC item to make sure the POS replaced the customer’s benefits back into their account;
we’ll test whether the POS accurately applies the dollar amount of a fruit/vegetable purchase to the customer’s account.
We’ll complete the transaction to verify that everything is correctly reflected and to verify the right store is being credited and paid
And we’ll be reviewing the customer’s receipt to make sure it properly shows what foods were purchased and what the remaining balance is after the transaction

6. Upcoming Events Level III Certification/Live Shopping Scheduling
The certification/live shopping will take approximately minutes if there are no issues.
For large chain stores (Wal-Mart, Dillons, Target, & Hy-Vee), a live shopping visit is not required for each store, but we will be visiting as many as possible.
Scheduling is based on the rollout schedule. The live shopping will be completed 1-4 weeks before the rollout date for your region.
Dates for certification live buys:
Region 1— December 11, January 5, 2018
Region 2— January 8 - February 2, 2018
Region 3— February 5 - March 2, 2018
Region 4— March 5 - March 30, 2018
Region 5— April 2 - April 27, 2018
Region 6— April 30 - May 25, 2018
The level 3 certification process should take around minutes. When we arrive at the store to do the certification, we’re going to: check in with customer service and ask to speak with a manager or trainer. And, we’ll ask if there is a specific register that we need to use for the live buy.
Something that’s important to keep in mind is that live buys are actual purchases so the registers can’t be in “training mode” during the process.
Also, a live shopping visit isn’t required for each large chain store, but we will be visiting as many as possible and we will also make sure that any stores that are not visited receive the quick tips, the reference material and door decals. This information will either be mailed or deliver by the Local Agency vendor contact.
As far as scheduling the live buy- Jim’s doing some testing behind the scenes. And once state staff get the go ahead from Jim, we’ll begin scheduling the live buys. These will be completed between 1 and 4 weeks prior to the rollout date, so for region 1 we’ll schedule them sometime between December 11 and January 5.
For stores in Wyandotte and Johnson County, staff will be visit your store December 18, 19 or 20 depending on if your store is ready for the certification/live buy.

7. Here is the rollout map with the rollout dates
Of course we start with region 1 who’s rollout is on January 10 and there are 106 stores for this region’s rollout.
This map is on our website and it’s really important to know what region your store is in and what dates eWIC will be coming to your store.

8. Upcoming Events Education Buys
Purpose = For WIC local agency staff to have the “eWIC shopping” experience
This will assist local agency staff with client education
Will occur the week of rollout
Will not occur at every store
Now for educational buys. These will occur a few days prior to rollout or on the actual day of rollout. You may have WIC local agency staff in your store conducting these educational buys.
The purpose of an educational buy is really just to allow local agency staff to use an eWIC card to make it easier to explain to clients what to expect.
These will occur the week of the rollout but they won’t occur at every store.

9. eWIC Transactions- The Basics
Transitioning – it’s a process!
All vendors must support paper checks throughout the entire rollout.
Checks may continue to be in circulation through October 2018.
Transitioning from checks to eWIC is a process and we realize this may produce some challenges, especially for new cashiers, because they’re going to have to learn how to process paper checks as well as WIC transactions.
Reminder that stores will be processing checks throughout the statewide rollout. We may continue to have checks in circulation through October of 2018.

10. eWIC Transactions – The Basics
WIC customers can be anybody of any age
Family benefits are aggregated
No ID is required for an eWIC transaction
Never ask for a WIC customer’s PIN
The cashier must wait until the customer has completely entered their PIN
The WIC customer will have 3 attempts to enter the correct PIN
Now for some of the basics in using the eWIC card:
A WIC Customers can be anybody of any age- there might be older children, or older relatives doing the family shopping and as long as the customer has the correct PIN for the card they’re using it is okay for them to make the purchase.
Family benefits are consolidated onto one card………..there is no ID needed for an eWIC transaction
Never ask for a WIC customer’s PIN and cashiers shouldn’t enter PIN for the customer. So if you’ve got someone who’s struggling with their PIN, it’s really best to refer them back to their local agency.
Something the pilot stores quickly figured out is that the cashier needs to wait until the customer has completely entered their PIN. If the cashier hits a button on the register before the customer has completely entered their PIN, this will cause a PIN error message.
There are a maximum of 3 attempts to enter the correct PIN. After the third attempt, the card will lock which will result in a transaction error. If this occurs, direct the customer to contact their local WIC clinic. If this happens on the weekend or evening, the customer can attempt to try their PIN again or reset their PIN after midnight.
Just an FYI, the customer will be educated on all of this by the Local agency staff.

11. eWIC Transactions – The Basics
Customers are not required to purchase foods not covered by WIC
An Authorized Program Booklet should be kept by each register for reference
No overrides!
Customers are not required to purchase foods not covered by WIC- If the customer doesn’t want to pay or is unable to pay for foods left in a remaining balance after using their eWIC card, offer to remove the food items from the order.
Also, please continue to keep the program booklets at each register for reference.
No overrides- during an eWIC transaction, some items may not scan as approved for WIC for the WIC customer. No overrides are allowed. Non WIC items must be purchased with another form of payment or be removed from the transaction. The item may be WIC approved, but just not part of the customer’s benefits or the item may be missing from our approved product list. We will talk more about this a little later.

12. Integrated Point of Sale (POS) Systems
For eWIC, WIC customers do not have to identify themselves as WIC customers prior to the transaction
Separating WIC Items:
WIC customer can have a mixed basket
Swipe eWIC card before other payment types
Now we are going to talk about integrated register systems vs. using a stand-beside device. Currently, about 95% of our WIC stores have integrated systems, and only a few stores will need to have a stand-beside device in order to process eWIC. And we wanted to point out some of the differences between an integrated system and using a stand-beside device for eWIC transactions. This slide pertains to vendors with integrated systems, that do not use a stand-alone or stand-beside device for SNAP, credit/debit. We will talk about stand-beside devices in our next slide.
For eWIC, WIC customers do not have to identify themselves as WIC customers prior to the transaction
Separating WIC Items- The WIC customer no longer has to separate WIC items from other purchases. They can have a mixed basket of WIC and non WIC items. Although in the beginning, WIC customers will be instructed to keep WIC items together in case there is a question about something being WIC approved, and the item is then easier to find.
Swipe eWIC card before other payments types= the WIC customer must (and will be trained on this) to swipe their WIC card first before any other form of payment (SNAP, credit/debit).

13. Stand-Beside Devices
The WIC customer will need to tell the cashier they are using an eWIC card prior to the transaction.
Separating WIC items:
Items need to be separated from non WIC items
Separate transaction
Fresh Fruits & Vegetables:
Need to be separated and rang up after other WIC items
Not scanned at the stand-beside device
This slide pertains to vendors that will be using a stand-alone or stand-beside device for eWIC transactions.
The WIC customer will need to tell the cashier they are using an eWIC card prior to the transaction.
Separating WIC Items- The WIC customer will need to continue to separate WIC items from other purchases. The eWIC transaction will be processed in separate transaction (similar to checks).
Fresh fruits/vegetables- Fresh fruits and vegetables will need to be rang up after all other WIC items. Fresh fruits and vegetables will not be scanned at the stand-beside device, but a total for the fresh fruits and vegetables will be inputted in the stand-beside device when prompted (at the end of the WIC transaction).

14. Understanding Receipts
Several receipts will be printed for the WIC customer
(depending on the register system)
Balance Inquiry:
Benefit balance
Prompted by the customer
Separate POS command
eWIC Beginning Balance:
Benefit balance before the transaction
May print automatically (w/ integrated systems)
Mid-transaction Receipt (mid-receipt):
eWIC items potentially approved for purchase
May print automatically after the beginning balance (w/ some integrated systems)
Some integrated systems need to be prompted to print it
Important for the client to review
Now we are going to talk about receipts. With eWIC there are several receipts that will be printed for the client. Depending on your register system, the number and appearance of the receipts will vary. And for the next several slides we have included some examples of the different types receipts.
The first receipt we will talk about is the Balance Inquiry = An eWIC balance inquiry is typically prompted by the WIC customer to check their balances before shopping. This is a separate POS command that is not part of an actual transaction. The balance inquiry receipt prints a list of the amounts, sizes and types of foods (benefit balance) the household has available to purchase.
During the eWIC transaction you will see the eWIC Beginning Balance = this receipt prints the household benefit balance before any eWIC items being purchased are deducted. This will print automatically on an integrated system after the WIC customer swipes their eWIC card and enters their PIN.
The Mid-transaction receipt or mid-receipt (specific to integrated systems only; stand-beside vendors will not have mid-receipts)= this receipt prints the list of items being potentially approved for purchase with the eWIC card. Most integrated POS systems will print this automatically after the beginning balance. Some integrated systems need to be prompted to print it. Please note, it is very important to review this receipt with the WIC shopper. It allows them to see which of their items were covered by WIC and gives them the opportunity to approve or disapprove the purchase. If there are items not covered (they didn’t have enough benefits or brought up the wrong item), the cashier can remove those items from the order so the shopper doesn’t have to pay for them with another tender.

15. Understanding Receipts
Ending Balance:
Prints at the end of the transaction
Shows ending balances after the transaction
Make sure to give to the WIC customer!
Ending balance receipt = This receipt prints at the very end of the transaction, after all forms of payment are tendered. It shows the household benefit balance after the items purchased in the transaction have been deducted. WIC shoppers can keep this receipt so they know how much they have left to buy on their next shopping trip. This receipt also includes the expiration date for the benefits. Depending on the register system, this could be a separate receipt, or it could include the beginning balances, WIC redemption for this transaction and ending balances.

16. Understanding Receipts
Total Transaction receipt:
Include all purchases, including non WIC items.
On the receipt on the right, the top item (corn flakes for $1.49) was a WIC item and you can see that there was also a non WIC item (gummy bears $1.00). The total WIC was $1.49 which left a balance of $1.09 (w/ tax) that the customer paid with another tender type.

17. Lessons Learned
Make sure cashiers are trained to wait until the customer completely enters their PIN before pushing the “approval button”.
Make sure cashiers are trained on how to complete a ‘balance inquiry’.
The WIC Check option on the register will not work an eWIC transaction.
All WIC stores must continue to accept WIC checks until the last check is used (approximately October 2018).
Self-checkouts cannot be used for eWIC.
Make sure to display the new eWIC door decal.
Map all store packaged produce (with UPCs starting with “2”), or reduced price produce to a recognized PLU.
Have patience! eWIC is new for everyone!
We have been piloting eWIC in Shawnee Co (with 17 stores) since September and overall it’s been working very smoothly, but with any pilot there have been some minor glitches. And we wanted to share some of the lessons we have learned so far.
Lisa touched on this earlier, but please Make sure cashiers are trained to wait until the customer completely enters their PIN before pushing the “approval button”- This is only an issue for certain stores, and we see the issue early on, but typically it stops as time goes by. If pushing the approval button prior to the PIN being completely entered, a PIN error message will be displayed.
Self-checkouts= this may change in the future, but for now and through rollout, no self checkouts.
Make sure to display the new eWIC door decal- If not room to display both the check and eWIC decal, display the eWIC decal only.
If produce is not accurately mapped, the customer will not be able to purchase the item with their WIC benefits. We will be talking more about mapping during the webinar.

18. Client Education eWIC is a new process for everyone!
Clients are being trained by their local WIC agency
Topics include:
How to shop with the eWIC card
What to expect at the register
No overrides!
How to use helpful resources/tools like the WIC Shopper app
How to report a lost/stolen/damaged card
How to check balances
How to shop w/ eWIC card- (ex: encouraging the purchase of least expensive eggs, milk and cheese)
No overrides- client shouldn’t argue about something not scanning as WIC approved. They will be told how to submit a UPC for consideration. They should also be referred to their local WIC agency if they have any questions.

19. Produce Mapping
The Kansas Approved Product List (APL) contains over 2000 produce PLUs and hundreds of packaged produce UPCs.
WIC retailers may alternately submit redemption requests for payment for fresh fruits and vegetables using a Product Look-up (PLU) code from the International Fresh Produce Standard (IFPS) if the item UPC is mapped (translated) as follows:
Partial Mapping: The item has a non-specific Product Look-up code (PLU) or a store specific Universal Product Code (UPC) mapped to a generic IFPS PLU; i.e., #4469, or
Full Mapping: The item has a non-specific Product Look-up code (PLU) or a store specific Universal Product Code (UPC) mapped to a produce specific IFPS PLU code that identifies the fruit or vegetable by name and type; i.e., banana, red delicious apple, eggplant, yellow onion, etc.

20. Produce Mapping
WIC retailers must use the partial or full mapping approach for the following products:
Loose fresh fruit and vegetables,
Fresh fruit and vegetables packaged according to weight,
Store packaged items labeled with UPC-A’s that begin with 2, and
Seasonal produce items
If a produce item doesn’t ring up for WIC, talk to your POS provider about mapping the item.

21. FAQs About Mapping
Q: I work for a store whose wholesaler has 23 PLUs for red seedless grapes, are you working with the growers to attain their PLUs? A: No, we only get our PLUs from the IFPS (International Federation for Produce Standards) website. That is our governing body over PLUs because they have to be unique, so the products have to go through the process. If a store gets a PLU that is not a standard PLU then it needs to be mapped to an approved IFPS PLU. Q: Will we have to provide our PLU codes or do we have to enter the dollar amount? A: In an integrated system, the only PLUs that we can take are those from the national IFPS. The system won’t let any other PLUs to be entered. Those items will need to be mapped to the standard PLU (from IFPS), and then the state will approve.

22. Frequently Asked Questions
The following section is further clarification from the eWIC presentation provided by the state contractor. We highly recommend that your staff be allowed time to hear and/or review the Kansas Retailer Presentation (PowerPoint) found at:
We are now going to take a look at some of the questions that were asked during our first eWIC webinar in June. This webinar was an eWIC 101 to get everyone familiar with eWIC. If you haven’t already, please watch the Kansas Retailer Presentation or review the powerpoint. The webinar recording and powerpoint can be found on our website.

23. eWIC Frequently Asked Questions
eWIC Card Usage
Q: If the eWIC card does not scan through the PIN pad, can the cashier hand-key the number.
A: Yes, as long as the client has the physical card and the reader will not read the card, the cashier can manually enter the card number but never the PIN.
The client is the only one who should ever enter the PIN.
Yes – as long as the client physically has possession of the card and the card reader hasn’t been able to read the card, the cashier can manually enter the card number. Also, just a reminder that the cashier should never enter the PIN.

24. eWIC Frequently Asked Questions
Food Benefits
Q: How will the client know what benefits they have left on their card?
A: Every completed eWIC transaction will have a receipt with an ending balance.
Q: If the participant brings up Highland milk instead of the store brand, will the system allow that redemption?
A: Yes, if it is the correct fat content, then the system would allow the Highland milk because all eligible WIC foods will be in the APL. Clients will be educated to make smart purchases such as least expensive, store brand for milk, eggs, and cheese, etc. Cashiers will not be asked to enforce our “least expensive item” policy.
Balances- Clients will be instructed to keep their last ending balance receipt. There are several other ways that a client can get their balances, like through the shopper app, client portal (web-based), by calling the IVR (interactive voice response tollfree #), through ebt edge (web-based), contacting their local WIC clinic or by requesting a balance inquiry at the store.

25. eWIC Frequently Asked Questions
Not to Exceed (NTE) Amounts
Q: If there is an item over the NTE, is the customer responsible for paying the difference?
A: The customer is not responsible. The client CANNOT be charged for a WIC purchase. Your agreement with the state forbids the vendor from collecting money for an item not covered with the NTE.
Q: Will we know what the maximum (NTE) amount paid will be?
A: It is a moving price. The system recalculates the NTE based on the pricing being submitted via the vendors’ WIC transactions in each peer group. It is an average based on all the vendors in that peer group. If there is a huge change in pricing, please contact the state WIC immediately, as a manual adjustment to the pricing may be needed (e.g. large increase in egg prices).
Currently w/ checks, NTEs are calculated by averaging prices (per food item) submitted on the QPA per peer group. With eWIC, NTEs will be calculated by using actual redemption data (per product) per peer group. -
This is a moving price. The system recalculates the NTE based on the pricing submitted through vendor WIC transactions in each peer group. So, it’s an average based on all the vendors in the peer group. If there’s a huge change in pricing, please contact either Janna or I because a manual price adjustment may be needed.

26. eWIC Frequently Asked Questions
Split Tender
Q: What happens if the client’s fresh fruit and vegetable benefit (FVB/CVB) goes over the amount?
A: The system will notify the cashier of the benefit covered and the total left to pay so that the client may then use a different type of tender, i.e. food stamp card, debit/credit card, check or cash. OR
The client can have the cashier remove products to get it down to the available benefit amount.
The system will notify the cashier of the benefit covered and the total amount left to pay so that the client may then use food stamp card, debit/credit card, check or cash. OR
The client can have the cashier remove products to get it down to the available benefit amount.
Example: client has $2.00 of FVB and purchased a bag of apples for $ The client can either pay the difference or have the item voided/removed from the transaction.
PLEASE REMEMBER - The client must run the eWIC card first before they use any other tender type.

27. eWIC Frequently Asked Questions
APL/UPCs/PLUs
Q: Does the APL include fresh produce as well?
A: Yes, the State of Kansas WIC program will only use PLUs from the IFPS (International Federation for Produce Standards) website. That is the governing body over PLUs because they have to be unique, so the products have to go through the process.
IFPS website:
Q: Will the state load a similar format for the UPCs that the state has been putting on their website?
A: No, the listing has been maintained because there was no way for the system to track individual items. eWIC will allow the stores to have a current listing through the daily download of the WIC Approved Product List (APL.)
APL = Approved Product List
UPC = Universal Product Code
PLU = Price Look up Code
For Q #2- the current list on our website is not all-inclusive. It doesn’t include all products that are not brand specific. Our APL has over 14, 000 products (including FV and PLUs), and it’s not feasible to keep up with this separate list.

28. Help us keep our APL up to date
We need your help keeping our APL up to date. You can do this by letting us know when there are:
Foods are missing from our APL
UPC changes
New products that might be WIC approved
To submit a UPC to see if WIC approved:
Submit the UPC and product information through the WIC Shopper app; or
Complete the “Request to Add an UPC” form. The form can be found on our website (
Foods missing from APL- Food that should have been WIC approved, but not ringing up at the register as WIC approved
New products- like canned beans

29. eWIC Resources
eWIC resources can be found on our website:
If you haven’t visited our website recently, it has been updated to include additional resources for eWIC. Some of this guidance will be provided during the certification/live buys (like the Quick Tips for cashiers). This webinar will also be posted on this site under ‘eWIC Presentations/Webinars’ next week.

30. Questions?
We are now going to review any questions you may have at this time. Please remember your line is muted, so please type your question into the question box and select send. It looks like we have a few questions already…

31. Contact Information
Lisa Long
Janna Gunckle
Jim Chilcoat
We just want to again thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedules to join us for our webinar today. We are super excited about implementing eWIC throughout Kansas and working directly with you to ensure a successful implementation. If you have any further questions or comments, please contact us. And With that we will conclude our webinar. Have a great day!