This standard provides all parties involved in Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) transactions with technical specifications for exchanging financial transaction messages. The document standardizes message formats based on the ISO 8583 standard and thereby maximizes EBT productivity for all stakeholders in the industry. This standard describes messages in both an offline and online processing environment. It specifies message structure, format and content, data elements and values for data elements used in EBT. The method by which EBT settlement takes place is not within the scope of this standard. Data representation used in individual systems is subject to the commercial relationships between the parties contracting to each system. The message formats specified in this standard are designed to ensure that compatibility between systems conforming to this standard is always feasible.