Tyro EFTPOS devices support Medicare Easyclaim for instant patient claim rebates to supported cards. But which cards can be used for Medicare Easyclaim rebates is not straight forward. This article describes supported Easyclaim cards.
First, some background and terminology
By legislation, Medicare Easyclaim only supports cards which are enabled for eftpos. Note that the term "eftpos" refers to the payment rails which enables patients to process funds from their debit account, and is different to the term "EFTPOS" which is used to refer to payment devices and terminals. eftpos enabled cards are always linked to a bank transaction, cheque or savings account. Credit and charge cards are not supported.
This means that scheme debit cards are also not supported; these are debit cards that are actually processed via Visa or Mastercard. However, many cards which have a Visa or Mastercard logo can be enabled for eftpos. These cards are sometimes called Dual or Multi Network cards. Let's break this down further.
What cards can be used for Easyclaim rebates?
If you have a card linked to your bank account which is branded eftpos or permits you to select eftpos savings (SAV) or cheque (CHQ) when inserted on a payment terminal or ATM, that card can be used for Easyclaim rebates.
What cards cannot be used for Easyclaim rebates?
If your card does not show the option for eftpos or only shows the option for Visa/Mastercard debit or credit, that card cannot be used for Easyclaim rebates.
Some Australian banks only offer Visa/Mastercard scheme debit cards. These single-network cards cannot be used for Easyclaim rebates. This includes cards issued by:
HSBC
Macquarie
You may be able to enable eftpos
If you have a Visa or Mastercard issued by a major bank in Australia which does not show eftpos options, you may be able to enable it by contacting your bank and requesting the card to be eftpos linked. Both credit and debit cards can be eftpos linked. Once enabled, you can select eftpos CHQ or eftpos SAV for Easyclaim rebates.
What about contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay cards?
If the card supports eftpos options on inserted or swiped transactions, those cards can generally be used contactless for Easyclaim rebates.
For Apple Pay and Google Pay enabled digital wallets, you may need to select a different card in your wallet prior to tapping for Easyclaim rebates. Some banks may require you to first select the card in the wallet, then select the eftpos option prior to tapping for Easyclaim rebates, like so:
