Overview

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are tax-advantaged accounts that allow consumers to pay for qualified healthcare expenses. Many medical offices and healthcare merchants in the U.S. accept FSA/HSA cards.

To accept FSA or HSA cards with the Lane/Series devices, your Point of Sale (POS) system must support an Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS) — a lookup service that verifies which items in a transaction are eligible for FSA/HSA payment.

An IIAS validates each product or service in the checkout basket against an approved product database.

Only eligible healthcare items can be charged to the FSA/HSA card.

Typical Transaction Flow

In order to perform FSA transactions with your Lane/Series device, we recommend the transaction flow outlined below.

The IIAS determines which checkout items are eligible for FSA/HSA payment.
A transaction is initiated for the HSA/FSA eligible items only, and the cardholder is instructed to use their HSA/FSA card.
The transaction request sent to the NMI gateway must include FSA-specific fields (see Per Transaction Configuration)
If non-eligible items remain, a second standard transaction can be performed.

💡
Tip: This separation ensures compliant processing and prevents declines for ineligible items.

Merchant Configuration

Each merchant must be configured to indicate how they substantiate FSA/HSA purchases. This configuration is set by the partner during account setup using the FSA/HSA Substantiation Indicator (id51).

Option	Description	Indicator (`id51`)
Uses IIAS	Merchant validates purchases via an IIAS lookup	1
No IIAS	Merchant does not validate purchases via IIAS	0
90% Rule	Merchant exempt because ≥90% of sales are for approved health products	2
N/A	Not applicable or not configured	(empty or other value)

This configuration can be set manually during Merchant Onboarding in the Partner Portal or via API.

Per Transaction Configuration

Transactions that use an FSA or HSA card must include fields identifying the healthcare-related amounts.

Field Name	Meaning	Card Brands
`fsa_amount_healthcare`	Total healthcare spend (usually equals total transaction amount for FSA/HSA-only purchases). Required for most FSA/HSA transactions.	Visa, MC
`fsa_amount_vision`	Total spend on vision services. May be sent instead of`fsa_amount_healthcare`	Visa only
`fsa_amount_rx`	Amount spent on prescriptions.	Visa, MC
`fsa_amount_clinic`	Amount spent on clinic services.	Visa Only
`fsa_amount_dental`	Amount spent on dental services.	Visa Only

Example: FSA Transaction Request

`{
  "amount": "100.00",
  "fsa_amount_healthcare": "100.00",
  "fsa_amount_clinic": "40.00",
  "fsa_amount_rx": "60.00",
  "payment_method": "fsa_card"
}`

In this example:

The total sale is $100.
$40 applies to clinic services.
$60 applies to prescriptions.

❗️
Important: Transactions missing required FSA fields may be rejected by the card network.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: What if the card is declined? Ensure the purchase includes only IIAS-approved items and that your merchant account is configured with the correct substantiation indicator.

Q: What if the sale includes both FSA and non-FSA items? Split the sale into two transactions — one for eligible items (FSA/HSA) and one for standard payment.

Q: Do I need IIAS if I’m a healthcare-only merchant? If ≥90% of your sales are for approved healthcare products, you may qualify under the 90% Rule (set id51 = 2).