eGovernment Payments Council member Novo Dia Group, Inc., a
software development firm specialized in the health and human services industry,
has deployed 325 iPod touch devices 26 farmers markets in Michigan, according
to the company.
The Novo Dia application enables market vendors to accept several
types of benefits cards. These include SNAP, WIC and WIC EBT cash-value benefits, the summer EBT for Children program and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) benefits.
The application, running on the iPod touch solves the problem
of cost-effective EBT access for farmers markets. In many farmers markets all
vendors share a single EBT terminal or rely on a system of physical “tokens”
which customers purchase at the terminal and pay for food with at the
individual vendor’s stall.
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The new device has a magnetic-card reader attached which
allows the iPod to be used like a regular debit card terminal. It runs Novo Dia’s "Mobile Market+" software.
"Before, our vendors missed out on most WIC and SNAP
purchases since they had no equipment to process electronic benefit cards
within their stands. Thanks to the Mobile Market+ solution, vendors can process
card transactions on the spot," says Joe Lesausky, of the Fulton Street
Farmers Market.
"The Mobile Market+ solution is specifically developed for
places with no access to phone lines, networks or electricity," according to
Novo Dia. The Mobile Market+ application is approved
by Apple and USDA. Approved vendors using the solution download the app directly from the Apple App Store.
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