Are you looking to expand the payment options you offer to your customers? Allowing them to pay with their Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) cards is a great way to do that.

This guide will walk you through the steps to enable HSA/FSA payments on your account and explain the compliance requirements you need to know about.

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What are HSA and FSA cards?

HSA and FSA cards are special payment cards that let customers use pre-tax funds to pay for eligible healthcare products and services. They work just like a regular credit or debit card, and can be used for both in-person and online payments.

Accepting HSA / FSA cards

When accepting HSA/FSA cards, here's what to keep in mind:

In-person payments: If the card has a chip, it must be inserted into the card reader. For cards without a chip, you can swipe them.
Virtual Terminal or online payments: HSA/FSA cards can be processed through your Virtual Terminal or online store if they are a Visa or Mastercard and the card issuer supports card-not-present payments.

Key requirements for HSA / FSA payment processing

Before you get started, it's important to understand the requirements for processing HSA/FSA payments. The good news is that we've made it as simple as possible.

For merchants in an approved healthcare category (MCC)

You're already set! You can process these payments without any additional steps.

For merchants in any other category

You will need to be registered with SIG-IS to process these payments. Helcim supports merchants who are registered with SIG-IS under the 90% exemption.

What is SIG-IS? SIG-IS is the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards, an organization that helps merchants comply with payment card network regulations for accepting HSA/FSA cards.
What is the 90% exemption? This is a program offered by SIG-IS that allows businesses to attest that at least 90% of their sales are for eligible healthcare products and services.

What about IIAS?

Merchants who have implemented an IIAS (Inventory Information Approval System) are in a distinct category. If you are an IIAS merchant, you must use an IIAS-certified POS system and process only standard credit card payments through the Helcim platform.

It's important to follow these rules, as not doing so could lead to non-compliance fines from Visa or Mastercard.

How to enable HSA / FSA payment processing

If you are registered with SIG-IS under the 90% rule, you can enable HSA/FSA processing by completing a self-attestation. It's a quick and easy process!

Log in to your Helcim account.
Click on All Tools in the top left corner.
Click on My Business under Back Office Tools.
Click on Security and Compliance in the sub-menu.
Select the SIG-IS Registration option and follow the prompts to complete the self-attestation.

Once you've completed this step, HSA/FSA payments will be enabled on your account. Remember, it is your responsibility to keep your SIG-IS membership current and follow all compliance rules for processing these cards.

Next steps

Congratulations on enabling HSA/FSA payments! Now that you've completed the attestation, you're ready to start accepting these cards from your customers.

FAQs

What happens if I don't follow the compliance requirements?

Failure to adhere to the compliance requirements may result in non-compliance fines from Visa or Mastercard.

My business is in a healthcare MCC. Do I need to do anything?

No, if your business is in an approved healthcare MCC, you can process HSA/FSA payments without any self-attestation.

HSA and FSA payments

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