How Browserbase Transformed Benny’s SNAP Benefits Platform

Benny is dedicated to enhancing the lives of SNAP recipients by offering a streamlined cash-back experience. Their platform provides a much-needed solution for SNAP users, who often struggle with outdated systems and fragmented account management. By leveraging Browserbase’s powerful browser automation, Benny empowers users to link EBT accounts, track balances, and maximize cash-back rewards with minimal friction.

“We give folks 1% cash back on their SNAP spend. They're able to link their EBT accounts with the state website and view their transactions, balances and get reminded on how they can maximize their earnings there”

- Steven Austin, Founder, Benny

With Browserbase, Benny has not only simplified the user experience but has also transformed their internal workflows, allowing the engineering team to focus on core functionalities instead of browser maintenance.

The Challenge of Creating an EBT-Linking Infrastructure

Before Browserbase, Benny’s engineering team faced significant hurdles in maintaining a reliable browser automation infrastructure. As Austin explained, “There is no Plaid equivalent for EBT SNAP data.” This forced the team to develop a custom system for automating access to EBT accounts—A task that proved challenging as they tried to integrate headless browser automation, proxy solutions, CAPTCHA-solving tools, and session monitoring.

Without a unified platform, Benny encountered multiple operational difficulties:

• The team managed a patchwork of scripts and tools that required constant monitoring.

• Browser automation tasks were prone to failure, leading to costly delays and resource allocation.

• Limited visibility into browser activity made debugging and troubleshooting time-consuming.

A Centralized Solution for Enhanced Performance

Browserbase provided a unified, scalable infrastructure that alleviated Benny’s browser automation pain points. Steven highlighted that the transition allowed them to redirect engineering resources toward the company’s primary mission: delivering cash-back benefits and financial insights to SNAP users.

“It was a lot to maintain, browser automation and infrastructure is not a core part of our offering. So we were really excited to kind of move to an all in one solution rather than us have this piecemeal approach.”

Through features like session replays and reusable session cookies, Browserbase streamlined Benny’s automation workflows, offering greater visibility and speeding up browser tasks that are critical to Benny’s user experience.

Impact: From Patchwork Solutions to Streamlined Workflows

The integration with Browserbase significantly boosted Benny’s performance and reliability metrics, enabling them to scale automation efforts while reducing technical overhead.

“We measure our link success rate, that's increased around 40% and there's other things in there, but I do think us having better infrastructure in terms of automatic captcha solving, higher quality proxies, proxy switching and just the ability to debug faster is directly tied to Browserbase.”

The platform also had a measurable impact on development efficiency:

• Session Replay for Fast Debugging: Browserbase’s session replay feature allowed Benny’s engineers to troubleshoot issues quickly, helping them differentiate between site downtimes and actual bugs.

• Reusable Sessions: Persisting session cookies reduced automation lag and improved reliability, leading to a better end-user experience.

• Enhanced Developer Experience: The intuitive interface and session management tools in Browserbase allowed Benny’s team to operate more efficiently, with Steven describing the developer experience as

“night and day compared to any alternative”

Conclusion

Browserbase has empowered Benny to transition from a fragmented, manually-maintained infrastructure to a robust, consolidated platform that enhances both their user experience and internal productivity. With Browserbase, Benny has reduced the complexity of maintaining browser automation while improving their core cash-back offering for SNAP users. As Steven affirmed:

“I’d absolutely recommend [Browserbase] to others… a new startup that needs a ton of browser automation or in an AI field that wants some sort of like agent access? I would recommend you all, hands down.”

Benny’s experience showcases how Browserbase enables rapid innovation, allowing fintech companies to scale and refine their offerings without sacrificing focus on their core mission.