Thousands of Maryland SNAP recipients woke up this Sunday morning unable to use their EBT cards. Grocery purchases, ATM withdrawals, PIN changes, and card locking are all blocked — and many people had no idea it was coming.
The outage is not a system failure. It is planned.
The Maryland Department of Human Services is moving to a new EBT card vendor — Fidelity Information Services (FIS) — and switching its online platform from ConnectEBT to a new portal and app called ebtEdge. The blackout window runs from midnight to noon on Sunday, May 17, 2026. 92 Q
Cardholders with the current “Maryland Independence” card cannot buy food or withdraw cash at any store or ATM during this period. DHS News
The situation left many families scrambling. A mother in Baltimore said she tried to swipe her card at a grocery store early Sunday morning and it was declined. She did not know about the outage until a neighbor told her.
Here is exactly what is blocked right now:
- Grocery and food purchases at stores
- ATM cash withdrawals
- EBT PIN changes
- Card locking or unlocking
- Access to the ConnectEBT app or website — which has been permanently shut down as of May 16
Maryland State Senator Pam Beidle urged people not to panic. “Don’t panic, plan ahead and try to make food purchases and/or ATM purchases,” Beidle said in a public statement. She also noted that seniors and people with disabilities may not have received enough warning. “A lot of people still don’t know, so we have to reach out to our seniors as well as the disabled to inform them of upcoming changes,” Beidle added. WMAR2 NewsWMAR2 News
Your benefits are completely safe. Cardholders do not need to spend all their benefits before the update. Balances will transfer automatically and the amount available will not change on existing cards. The BayNet
One group does face a short delay: people whose benefits normally deposit on the 17th of the month — those with last names beginning NEG through PGZ — may see their deposit arrive a few hours late. This is expected, not an error. WMDT
What to do starting Monday, May 18:
- Register at ebtedge.com — Create a new account on the ebtEdge Cardholder Portal
- Download the ebtEdge app — Available on iOS and Android, replacing the ConnectEBT app permanently
- Keep your current EBT card — It will work normally after noon today and remains valid for months
Starting in July 2026, Maryland will mail new chip-enabled EBT cards to all cardholders. Maryland will be among the first states in the nation to use EMV chip and tap technology on benefit cards — the same security standard used on modern debit and credit cards. DHS News
Officials say the new cards will make it significantly harder for scammers and thieves to steal card information — a critical step as EBT skimming fraud has surged nationwide in recent years. 92 Q
The Maryland Department of Human Services warned: “We will never ask for your card information. Do not send your card number or PIN to anyone, even if you think it’s DHS.” Scammers often use moments of confusion like this to steal benefits. Maryland Department of Human Services
If your card still does not work after noon today, call 1-800-997-2222 — the EBT Vendor Services line. For account address updates, call 1-800-332-6347 or visit benefits.maryland.gov.
Full transition details are posted at the Maryland Department of Human Services official EBT update page.
Sources: Maryland Department of Human Services, WMDT, The BayNet, WMAR2News, 92Q Baltimore
