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All Forage integration options are PCI Level 1 compliant

Forage builds software tools that grocers and merchants of all sizes can use to accept online and in-person EBT payments.

There are several ways to integrate Forage:

The best integration option for you depends on how you want to handle split tender.

Decide how to handle split tender

Even if every item in a cart is EBT eligible, transaction, delivery, and other common fees are not. Customers almost always need to use multiple payment methods to pay for an order. For example, an EBT Card pays for EBT eligible items, and a credit/debit card is used for ineligible items and fees or to cover any outstanding balance. This is split tender.

Decision tree asks if a developer wants Forage to handle split tender; if so pick Fully Hosted; if not, then ask if you want to collect EBT inline at checkout; if yes go with an SDK; if not go with Custom

The best integration option for your app depends on how you want to handle split tender.

Read on for an introduction to each integration option, or jump to compare integration features.

Explore integration options

Fully Hosted

Forage processes credit/debit card payment methods in addition to EBT cards if you opt for a Fully Hosted Checkout integration.

To capture any payment, your checkout page directs a customer to Forage Checkout. Forage Checkout collects the:

  • EBT Card number and PIN to perform a balance check
  • Amount of EBT funds to apply to the order total
  • Credit/debit card information
  • EBT Card PIN to authorize the payment

Forage captures payment from both the EBT Card and the credit/debit card. If the payment capture is successful, then Forage Checkout directs the customer back to your site to confirm the order and view an EBT-compliant receipt. If the payment capture fails, then Forage Checkout prompts the customer to retry or cancel the payment.

Fully Hosted is the best integration option if you have limited developer resources.

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Custom

With Custom Checkout, Forage processes EBT cards, but it's up to you to handle split tender, taxes, and error scenarios.

The customer needs to enter the amount of EBT funds to apply to the order and any credit/debit card details on your website. When the customer is ready to place the order, your site directs them to Forage Checkout to enter their EBT Card PIN to authorize the payment. After the customer enters their EBT PIN, Forage Checkout charges the customer’s EBT Card, and directs the customer back to your checkout page to confirm the order and view an EBT-compliant receipt.

Custom Checkout is the best integration option if you have ample developer resources and want to minimize changes to your existing checkout flow.

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Before authorizing the payment, you can optionally use Forage Checkout to check the customer’s EBT balance.

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Online-only SDKs

You can use Forage SDKs to build a completely customizable, native EBT checkout UI. No redirects required! SDKs are the best integration option if your top priority is to control the complete checkout experience, to build for Android or iOS, and/or you have ample developer resources.

If you're building a UI from scratch with an SDK, then you're responsible for managing split tender, sales tax, and EBT error scenarios.

Forage SDK version compatibility

Latest Forage versionMinimum required dependency
forage-android4.1.0Android API Level 23
forage-ios4.4.9iOS v13
forage-js1.1.1node 16.16.0

Android

iOS

Forage JS

POS Terminal SDK

You can use the Forage POS Terminal SDK to accept in-person EBT payments via an Android device. This is the integration option for you if you want to process EBT payments with Forage at a physical store location.

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Compare integration features

Fully Hosted CheckoutCustom CheckoutSDKs
Engineering liftSmallMediumMedium
In-line EBT checkout experience✖️Re-direct✖️Re-direct✅ Native in-line
Credit/debit card processingDIYDIY
Split tender processing, including error handling and charge reversalsDIYDIY
EBT payment error UX messagingDIY
Field for a customer to set SNAP and EBT Cash amountsDIYDIY
Sales tax calculationDIYDIY
Built-in order lifecycle management on top of Forage Order objectsDIY