By Ian Cox Moya and Rachel Zabronsky

Innovations in payments and financial services have made life easier for many – from paying the babysitter with a smartphone to checking out with one-click to splitting an online purchase into multiple payments over time with no interest.

However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that innovations in fintech are available to the underserved. That’s why PayPal Ventures invested in Forage, a company that works with merchants to easily enable them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, online. One in eight Americans receive government assistance to buy groceries. While more than 250,000 brick & mortar locations accept SNAP benefits via electronic benefits transfer (EBT) in-store, only a fraction have been approved for online EBT. As a result, the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP are left with little to no choices when it comes to online shopping and grocery delivery.

Forage guides merchants through both the technical and regulatory hurdles involved in gaining approval to accept SNAP online. Forage’s solution includes hands-on assistance for merchants, helping them move seamlessly through the USDA approval process. Forage also solves ongoing operational and compliance challenges like item/SKU-level eligibility support and unique processing requirements (e.g., split-tender, tax calculations, PIN entry). With Forage, grocers big and small can effectively and compliantly serve all eligible consumers; and the universe of online grocery options available to SNAP recipients can meaningfully expand.

The SNAP program has grown an average of 13% annually, and in 2021 the program surpassed $120 billion. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic changed the way people shop for food, and online grocery grew from 2.7% before the pandemic to 9.5% in 2021 (Source:  Mercatus/Incisiv eGrocery Market Research). It’s clear that SNAP recipients want to engage with and would benefit from access to online grocery options, especially the over 26% of SNAP recipients who are disabled, and many more who have jobs that don’t allow them to work from home (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities). Forage’s solution is clearly needed to help bridge this gap.

The Forage team is helmed by CEO Ofek Lavian . Ofek was previously the Head of Product for Payments at Instacart, where he led their efforts to build acceptance of EBT payments. He knows first-hand how many people and months it can take to begin accepting SNAP online. By innovating in this overlooked space, Forage is helping millions of people get access to commerce innovations like online grocery shopping and grocery delivery.

Welcome to the PayPal Ventures portfolio, Forage!

If you’re interested in exploring careers at Forage: https://www.joinforage.com/careers

If you’re interested in working with Forage to accept SNAP online: https://www.joinforage.com/get-in-touch