Instacart Expands Online Food-Stamp Payments, Challenging Rivals
- SNAP recipients will be able to shop at 4,000 U.S. stores
- Walmart and Amazon have dominated online food-stamp shopping
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg
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Instacart Inc. is increasing the number of stores where it accepts online payments for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants, moving the online grocery delivery giant into competition with Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.. for a growing pool of consumers using federal assistance to buy food online.
The San Francisco-based startup is partnering with three retailers, Publix Super Markets Inc., The Save Mart Companies and Golub Corp.’s Price Chopper/Market 32, to allow Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments in more than 1,500 additional U.S. stores. The expansion is about a 60% increase in availability for SNAP online purchasing through Instacart, which began in October with a partnership with ALDI.