Increasing health savings account (HSA) enrollment is good for everyone. Members and their families can spend pre-tax funds on health care expenses, employers save on payroll taxes, and HSA providers increase their revenue…so why isn’t everyone signing up? For starters, barely half of Americans know what HSAs actually do.
Investing and banking are boring, hard to understand, and have traditionally been gated by brokers and bankers. Raise your hand if that sounds familiar. (I see your hand.)
Here’s where it gets different: fintech leaders have found ways to introduce new consumers to banking and investing. In its 2021 annual report, Plaid found that nearly nine in 10 (88%) Americans now use a fintech app to manage their financial lives. That’s higher than video streaming services (78%) and social media (72%).
Fintech innovators have done this by eliminating barriers that block access. For example, Vestwell provides their partner financial institutions with the benefits of a modern-day recordkeeper. Because they don’t have to build or manage a recordkeeper, more financial institutions can offer 401(k) programs to employers, and more employees have access to retirement savings. Barrier eliminated.
If fintech leaders can do it, benefit providers should be able to do it, too—right? In “Six Lessons From Fintech That Could Boost Your HSA Enrollment,” we’ll look at how fintech successfully gained new users and see how those lessons can apply to HSA enrollment.
