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Sterling HSA, one of the nation's five largest health savings account administrators based on accounts, has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement with Metavante Healthcare Payment Solutions, a division of Metavante Technologies Inc., both companies announced today. Metavante contracts with a bank to issue the MasterCard-branded WealthCare debit card to Sterling HSA's account holders, a Metavante spokesperson tells ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. Metavante officials did not disclose the bank's name. Sterling HSA switched to Metavante's WealthCare card from the Evolution Benefits HSA card because of Metavante's commitment to HSAs, says Nancy Brumfield, spokesperson for Oakland, Calif.-based Sterling HSA. Individuals deposit funds into their HSAs and use the debit card to pay for what the IRS says are qualified medical expenses, such as doctor visits, Brumfield says. "You can't buy furniture with the card," Brumfield says. "The debit card is a convenient form of payment. Consumers would rather pay with the card instead of paying with cash or writing a check." Banks also benefit because they receive interchange revenue from debit card transactions, says Red Gillen, senior analyst for health care at Celent LLC. Besides issuing the debit card, Milwaukee-based Metavante will process Sterling HSA's debit card transactions. Sterling HSA has 30,000 account cardholders, Brumfield says.
