John J. Robbins, Sr. (President and CEO of DataPath, Inc.) authored the article, "Is a Credit Card the Answer to HSA Reimbursement Questions?" which appeared in the June/July 2005 issue of the Journal of Payment Systems Law. The article explores in depth the issues involved in offering electronic payment cards to employees as a way to facilitate payment of health care expenses.

DataPath was the first in the market to offer a credit card (myResourceCard^®) that interconnects and interfaces with employee benefit options, and built on that success by offering a debit card (mySourceCard^®) as well.

“We looked at the way electronic payment cards have transformed reimbursement benefit plans, and we decided to take it to the next level,” Robbins said. “There are inherent benefits in both the credit card and stored-value card approaches, so it’s a value-added service for Plan Service Providers to be able to offer their clients the option of both platforms.”

The article outlines the legislative history surrounding electronic payments cards and then examines the pros and cons of using debit and credit cards with Health Savings Accounts.

Click here to read the article (reprinted with permission from the June/July 2005 issue of the Journal of Payment Systems Law).

About The Journal of Payment Systems Law.  The Journal of Payment Systems Law helps companies negotiate the legal implications of conducting business in an environment that has witnessed an explosion of innovative new systems for processing payments. Articles and columns in the Journal explore developments in the law relating to established systems, such as point-of-sale, debit and credit cards, automated teller machines, paper checks (including corporate checks, consumer checks, and bank checks), cash, and electronic funds transfers. The publication also covers new alternative systems, including person-to-person money transfer systems such as PayPal, electronic benefit cards, electronic gift cards, and ACH networks.