Truemed Alternatives for Your Store, Gym, or Spa

TLDR;

If you run a store, gym, spa, or wellness business, letting customers spend HSA/FSA dollars with you is one of the most effective sales lifts available, and Truemed is the name most owners hear first. It is not the easiest way to get there. Truemed means a sales call, a checkout integration on their card rails, and terms that typically include a rev share. Burst is the alternative built for speed: self-serve signup, live in about 30 minutes, no technical integration, free for merchants with no contract and never a percentage of your revenue, and it works whether you sell online, in person, or both. Here's the full merchant-side comparison.

(Shopping as a consumer, not a merchant? You can get a letter for any purchase directly from Burst.)

Truemed alternatives for merchants at a glance

Why merchants go looking for a Truemed alternative

• The process. A sales call, a wait, a technical integration, and their team's timeline becomes your launch timeline.

• The terms. Merchant pricing isn't published. You don't know the cost until you're deep in their sales process.

• The model. Built for online checkout. A front desk, a med spa chair, or custom billing has nothing to plug into.

• Recurring billing. Memberships and subscriptions are where HSA/FSA spend matters most, and card-rail models handle them worst.

Burst: live in 30 minutes, built for every business

Burst was built to remove every one of those obstacles. Signup is self-serve, and partners are live in 30 minutes with zero technical integration: nothing changes in your checkout, your POS, or your billing. Your customers pay you exactly the way they do today, with any card. Burst handles the Letter of Medical Necessity side: a licensed clinician reviews each member's case, the letter arrives within 24 hours of approval, and Burst files the reimbursement claim with the member's FSA, HSA, or HRA plan; the administrator pays the reimbursement out of their account to them.

Burst is free for merchants. Members pay a one-time letter fee. And the offer is safe to put your brand behind: if a clinician doesn't approve a letter or a member's claim is denied, the fee is refunded automatically. Neither Truemed nor Flex advertises a comparable guarantee.

Retailers, gyms, wellness spas, med spas, and studios all run on the same setup, because there is no integration to vary.See how it works or go live now.

Flex

Flex (withflex.com) is functionally the same product as Truemed: an HSA/FSA card option in partner checkouts, an LMN service, a marketplace of partner brands, a sales call to learn your terms (typically a rev share), and an integration to go live. If you're comparing Flex to Truemed, the model is the same; the differences are the roster and the terms. If you want to be live today without engineering, neither is the tool.

What about Hammock?

Hammock (usehammock.co) describes itself as a consumer app that scans a shopper's own accounts for eligible expenses. It isn't sold as a merchant product.

The recurring billing problem, and why it matters for gyms and spas

HSA and FSA cards only approve at businesses coded as medical providers, or at retailers checking every item against an eligibility list in real time. Recurring charges need that check on every renewal. That’s why card-rail providers struggle with exactly the revenue that matters most to membership businesses. With Burst, members keep paying through your existing billing, on whatever card they already use, and the letter covers the expense. Nothing changes in your billing at all.

How to choose

• You're an e-commerce brand already in Truemed's or Flex's pipeline and comfortable with an integration project on their timeline.

• You want HSA/FSA live this week, at a price you know in advance, without touching your checkout: that's Burst.

• You're a gym, spa, or studio with recurring billing: card-rail models work against you structurally. Start with the offering that ignores card rails.

Frequently asked questions

How do I let customers use HSA/FSA money at my business?

Offer them a path to a Letter of Medical Necessity and reimbursement. With Burst, partners are live in 30 minutes, self-serve: your customers pay you normally, Burst's clinicians handle the letters, and Burst files the reimbursement claims.

What does Truemed cost a merchant?

Truemed doesn't publish merchant pricing; you learn your terms through their sales process (typically a rev share %). Burst is free for merchants, with no contract or revenue share.

Does offering Burst require a developer or checkout changes?

No. There is no technical integration. Your checkout, POS, and billing stay exactly as they are, which is also why Burst works for in-person businesses, not just online stores.

What happens if my customer's claim is denied?

Burst refunds the letter fee automatically if a clinician doesn't approve the letter or the plan denies the claim, so the offer never burns a customer. Truemed and Flex don't advertise a comparable guarantee.

Can Burst make my products FSA/HSA eligible?

No service can. Eligibility comes from IRS rules and each member's plan administrator. A Letter of Medical Necessity documents the medical reason for an expense so an eligible claim can be approved.

Can members get letters for things they already bought?

No. IRS rules require the letter to be dated on or before the purchase, and that binds every provider equally: Burst, Truemed, and Flex.

Related guides

• Truemed vs Flex for merchants: which should you offer?

• Burst vs Truemed

• Flex alternatives for merchants

• Can you use your HSA or FSA for a gym membership?

Offer HSA/FSA savings this week

Self-serve setup in about 30 minutes. Free for merchants, no contract, no revenue share, no integration.Get started with Burst or see how it works.