Vault patient HSA, FSA, and credit cards at check-in so you can charge the patient responsibility portion the moment the EOB posts — without another phone call.
What is card on file in a healthcare practice?
Card on file (CoF) tokenizes a patient's card at check-in and stores the token in your gateway vault. When the insurance EOB posts the patient responsibility, your billing team (or an automated rule) charges the token without recontacting the patient — collecting the balance in days instead of weeks.
How does HSA / FSA work with card on file?
HSA and FSA cards are stored as ordinary card-on-file tokens but routed at medical-MCC interchange and tagged with IIAS substantiation data. When the charge posts, the plan administrator sees a substantiated medical expense and does not request a receipt — patients avoid the manual reimbursement step entirely.
Is card on file HIPAA-compliant?
Yes when implemented correctly. The cardholder data lives in our PCI-DSS-certified vault, never in your EHR. We sign a BAA, segregate PHI from payment metadata, and pass only the minimum-necessary fields (patient ID, encounter ID, amount) back to your PMS for posting.
What about patient consent?
Patients sign a card-on-file authorization at check-in (electronic or printed) that explicitly authorizes future charges up to a stated cap. The signed authorization is stored against the token and surfaces during dispute representment — chargeback win rates run 60–75% with proper auth on file.
How does this connect to recurring payment plans?
Card on file is the foundation of recurring payment plans. Once the token is vaulted with consent, splitting a $1,200 balance into 6 monthly installments takes a single API call — no further patient action needed.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you get approved?
Most healthcare practices are approved within 24 hours of complete application submission. Specialty MIDs (dental DSO, behavioral health groups, DME) may take 48–72 hours while underwriting reviews trailing statements and licensure.
What does it cost?
Interchange-plus pricing — typically 2.4% + $0.10 per card transaction with no setup fee and no monthly minimum. ACH is 0.5–1.0%. You see interchange cost, assessments, and our markup on a single itemized statement.
Is the platform HIPAA-compliant?
Yes. We sign a BAA, tokenize all card and bank data before it touches your systems, and segregate PHI from payment metadata. EHR / PMS integrations move only the minimum necessary data for posting.