Michiganders who use Bridge Cards to buy food or use cash assistance benefits will be unable to do so late Saturday and early Sunday while a system upgrade is implemented that will provide easier access to benefits.
The Bridge Card system will be down from approximately 11 p.m., Saturday to 11 a.m., Sunday. Residents who receive food assistance, cash assistance and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) benefits loaded on the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards will not be able to redeem them during those hours. They can use the same cards beginning again at 11 a.m., Sunday without any effect on their benefits. Benefit balance information for all programs will be available at 11 a.m. and the transactional history will be available by 3 p.m.
“These system changes will improve access to food and cash assistance because clients now will be able to use a mobile app that was not previously available,” said Lew Roubal, MDHHS senior deputy director for opportunity. “We apologize for any inconvenience and chose a timeframe with low Bridge Card activity to make this transition.”
System upgrades involve a switch to Fidelity Information Systems (FIS), a Florida-based technology services company, which will be the new Electronic Benefit Transfer provider for MDHHS. The system needs to be shut down during the transition from the previous vendor. This is the next step from a previous attempt to switch systems in August, when technical issues created delays. MDHHS expects a smooth transition this coming weekend.
Bridge Card holders will continue to use the www.michigan.gov/MIBridges website and call the toll-free number on the back of their card.
Clients who are interested in viewing their account status and transaction data online will be required to create a profile on the Food and Nutrition Service cardholder site. Food and cash assistance clients can access the new ebtEDGE mobile app for use on Android devices in the Google store or IOS devices in the Apple store. WIC clients already have had access to a mobile app.
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