Does Starbucks take EBT? Are you wondering if Starbucks accepts EBT as a form of payment? We are here to clear up some of the confusion and answer some of your questions about the differences between Starbucks corporate locations and licensed stores.
It is to our understanding that some of the Starbucks locations do accept EBT as payment, however this is not always the case. We have spoken with a Starbucks customer service care representative in order to get a better understanding on whether EBT is actually an accepted form of payment. Learn more about it below!
Readers have also suggested that sometimes it works inside grocery stores. We encourage readers to check with the Starbucks location they are visiting before making their purchases in order to make sure that they have alternative payment options available to them.
Corporate Stores versus Licensed Stores
A Low Income Relief reader named Brumar described the specific differences between the Starbucks corporate locations and the licensed store locations in a 2016 Facebook post on our page. Brumar explained that:
“Non-corporate Starbucks stores (like the ones in Target or inside a Marriott Hotel) are called Licensed Store Locations which means the business they are attached to lease Starbuck’s name, logo, recipes, the Starbucks look, practices, operations, etc and pay Starbucks a certain percentage of their revenues in exchange. That’s why you can use an EBT card in the licensed store location but not in a corporate store location. . . because LS locations are set up with EBT processing while corporate locations are not.”
It seems that this may still be very accurate, but something that Starbucks does not encourage for these licensed store locations to accept EBT as payment.
So, does Starbucks accept EBT?
After speaking with a Starbucks customer service chat representative, there were a few things that we learned. The representative explained that, “Starbucks, as policy, does not accept food stamp cards for payment at its company-operated stores. However, some of our licensees, particularly those within grocery stores, may accept these for payment.”
The representative was also very adamant that many locations within grocery stores will accept EBT as payment, but it is encouraged to not allow this practice as the majority of the Starbucks locations follow corporate policies. “The acceptance of these programs as a form of payment is common within the grocery industry and our licensees are committed to following all laws and rules of the individual programs. When this topic arises, Starbucks continues to communicate to our licensees that we do not recommend this practice,” they said.
Find Your Starbucks Location
As a disclaimer, remember to always check with the Starbucks location nearest you to see if they accept EBT. Try using the Store Locator for the Starbucks Coffee Company!
It is more likely for the non-corporate Starbucks stores found inside licensed store locations. For example, this would be the cafe found inside your local grocery store or pharmacy instead of a separate, traditional Starbucks building.
