Instacart Now Accepts FSA, HSA Payments

Instacart is making it even easier for its customers to shop using different payment methods. Beginning Dec. 4, the grocery technology company will accept Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) payments on its platform to enable delivery from its more than 80,000 retail partners. 

Instacart customers will be able to use their FSA and HSA cards at checkout to purchase items for delivery, helping them eliminate the need to manually submit receipts for reimbursement. While many retailers don’t accept FSA or HSA cards as payment in-store, this new integration will enable that payment acceptance from every retailer on the Instacart App that offers eligible products. 

“Each year, millions of Americans enroll in FSA and HSA plans, setting aside pre-tax dollars for health expenses,” explained Sarah Mastrorocco, VP and general manager of Health for Instacart, in a company blog post. “While HSA funds do not expire, FSA funds typically expire at the end of the year. Given the ‘use it or lose it’ nature of FSA funds, each year millions of consumers rush to spend these funds at the end of each year, only to be confronted with confusion about what’s covered and time-consuming reimbursement processes.” 

Come Dec. 4, the Instacart app will include:

• FSA and HSA Pop-Up: FSA- and HSA-eligible items across Instacart have been integrated into the “FSA & HSA Shop” to make it easier to discover products. The FSA and HSA Pop-Up shop is available on the Instacart homepage with all items delivered from our retail partners.

• FSA and HSA-Eligible Product Tags: In-app labels have been added to qualifying items to help people more easily identify FSA- and HSA-eligible items as they shop. Consumers can also search FSA or HSA in the search bar to find eligible products. 

The Instacart Health Wallet is also being added to the company’s roster. The feature will help centralize payment options, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and other supplemental grocery and over-the-counter benefits, as well as FSAs, HSAs and Instacart Health Fresh Funds. The Health Wallet will make it easier for consumers to apply eligible benefits to the eligible items in their cart in a single order. 

“With the Instacart Health Wallet and our new FSA and HSA payment integration, we’ll make it easier for customers to use all the benefits they have, making the entire shopping experience more convenient and more affordable,” Mastrorocco wrote. “We believe that everyone should have access to the essentials they need, and we’re proud to take these additional steps in support of this goal.”

San Francisco-based Instacart partners with more than 1,400 national, regional and local retail banners to deliver from 80,000-plus stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. In September, Instacart started trading under the ticker CART following a $30 per share price set for its initial public offering (IPO).