CalFresh EBT card not working at ATMs across California - anyone else having issues?

Yep, same issue here in San Diego. Been trying since Tuesday to access my cash benefits. The cashier at Food 4 Less told me several customers mentioned it yesterday. Must be a statewide system issue with the cash aid portion. My food benefits still work fine too.

This happens sometimes when there's a system update or maintenance to the EBT system. Usually resolves within 24-48 hours. For future reference, you can also withdraw your cash benefits at most grocery store checkouts that accept EBT - just ask for cash back when you make a purchase. That sometimes works even when ATMs are down. If you need immediate help with your rent situation, you might want to call your county CalFresh office directly to see if they can tell you when the system will be back up. Though getting through can be a challenge...

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! This is like the third time this year the EBT system has gone down! And of course it ALWAYS happens right when rent is due. They do this ON PURPOSE I swear. My landlord doesn't care about "system issues" when I'm late with rent. Now I'll get hit with late fees that nobody reimburses. And good luck getting anyone on the phone to explain what's happening. The whole CalFresh/CalWORKs phone system is designed to make you give up!!!

I had this problem yesterday too but mine started working again this morning! Try again today. Also I noticed the ATMs inside actual bank branches were working better than the standalone ones at stores. Not sure why but might be worth trying if you have a bank branch nearby.

I was having this exact same issue and was getting desperate to reach someone at my county office. After trying for TWO DAYS I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a live person at my county CalFresh office in about 20 minutes. They explained there was a system outage affecting ATM access for cash benefits but food benefits should still work fine. Apparently it should be resolved by tomorrow morning. If you need to get through to your county worker quickly, check out their video demo: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 - saved me hours of frustration!

Just an update - my EBT card is working again at ATMs as of about an hour ago. Might be fixed statewide now. Worth checking yours!

Glad to hear it's working again! For everyone in this thread - this is a good reminder to always have a backup plan for accessing your benefits. Some suggestions: 1. Set up direct deposit for cash aid instead of keeping it on your EBT card 2. Try to keep a small emergency fund when possible 3. Know which grocery stores in your area offer cash back with purchases 4. Save the direct number to your specific eligibility worker if you have one assigned 5. Make sure your contact info is updated with the county so they can notify you of any system issues The CalFresh and CalWORKs systems aren't perfect, but having contingency plans can help reduce stress during these outages.

This happened to me once before back in November. Turns out my card was actually damaged (the magnetic strip was worn out) but I thought it was a system issue because other people were having problems too. If anyone is still having issues after the system comes back online, might be worth requesting a replacement card just to rule that out.

I'm dealing with this same issue in Fresno! Been trying since yesterday and getting nowhere with the ATMs. What's really frustrating is that this always seems to happen at the worst possible time - right when bills are due. I tried calling the EBT customer service line multiple times but like others mentioned, just get stuck in an endless phone tree. Has anyone had luck getting through to an actual person at the state level rather than county offices? I'm wondering if there's a better number to call for system-wide outages like this.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through this multiple times over the past few years. The EBT system outages are unfortunately pretty common, especially during the first week of the month when everyone's trying to access their benefits. What I've learned is to always try the cash back option at grocery stores first - even when ATMs are down, the point-of-sale systems at stores often still work for cash withdrawals. You can usually get up to $40-60 cash back depending on the store. Also, if you're really in a bind with rent, most landlords will accept a money order, and you can get those at the post office or many grocery stores using your EBT cash benefits once the system is back up. Hang in there everyone - these outages are super frustrating but they do get resolved!