Business (For- and Not-for-Profit)

Appendix F21

Round 3
Third Party Processors (TPPs) Interview Guide

Third Party Processors (TPPs) Interview Guide

Round 3: Mature Operations and Feasibility of HIP Expansion

The purpose of Round 3 interviews is to document the mature HIP operations process to assess the feasibility of expanding HIP. The interviews will take place approximately 11-12 months after beginning HIP operations.

It is anticipated that interviews will occur over approximately a one week period and will be completed by phone. Persons to be interviewed will include:

• The TPP’s Technical Contact with the applicable store or stores in Hampden County and, if different, TPP’s technical contact with ACS, the EBT contractor. (responsible for the technical aspects of the changes necessary to implement HIP at the integrated and third party retailers and ACS)

• The TPP’s Relationship Contact with the store or stores in Hampden County (responsible for the store relationship with the integrated retailer)

Interviews will include the following questions. Additional follow-up questions are anticipated, to clarify or expand responses.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 90 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Date and Time of Interview

2. Name(s) and Title(s) of Respondent(s)

3. Location of Interview

4. Provide a brief description of the respondent’s normal job functions and those specifically related to the HIP implementation if they have changed since the previous interview.

HIP OPERATIONS

5. Have any modifications to your system been required to address HIP requirements since the previous interview? If yes, please describe.

6. Have there been any issues with HIP transactions and settlement since the previous interview and how have they been resolved?

7. In retrospect, would you have made any changes to the way you modified your system for HIP? If so, please describe.

RETAILER SUPPORT

8. What type of HIP-related questions, if any, have you received from your clients concerning HIP since the previous interview?

   1. What is the major issue, if any, that retailers are reporting concerning HIP?

   2. Have your HIP retailers reported any issues with SNAP settlement or reconciliation since the previous interview? If so, please describe.

   3. Given your experience to date, would you change your retailer training approach or training materials for HIP (if applicable)?

ISSUES/LESSONS LEARNED

9. Other than previously discussed, what issues, if any, have you encountered during early operations and how were they resolved?

   1. What impact did they have on HIP operations?

10. What lessons learned can be derived from your experience?

11. If HIP were expanded to other states, would you have the ability to port your system modifications to other clients?

EXPENDITURES

12. What changes would you make (i.e., system changes or training changes) before expanding HIP in Massachusetts or other states?

    1. Can you provide an estimate of the cost of these changes?

13. Based on your experience with HIP (and similar transactions for WIC EBT), can you envision having to change your TPP per transaction fees for HIP EBT transactions? Please elaborate.

14. Based on your knowledge of TPPs, approximately how many TPPs would need to modify their systems if HIP were deployed nationally?