EzyCredit makes patient finance easy

A new consumer financing package about to be launched with a mass market advertising campaign will allow dentists providing comprehensive treatment or expensive procedures such as implants to offer patients interest-free payment plans.

Termed EzyCredit, the facility provides $500 to $15,000 credit to approved customers in 30 minutes for amounts under $5,000 and in four hours for amounts over that figure. The package provides an alternative for patients to expensive credit cards and will be an incentive to accept a full treatment plan that otherwise may have been done over many months or not at all.

Approved customers have the choice of monthly or fortnightly repayments across a period of the dentist's choosing (six, ten, or 12 months) with re-payments being made via direct debit from the patient's account.

The cost to dentists is 1% per month, so offering six months interest free to your patients costs 6% of the value of the treatment (see table).

Point-of-sale material and application forms are included when you become an EzyCredit provider. When you present your patient with their treatment plan, you explain that interest free finance is available.

If the patient wants to finance their treatment, they then complete the application form and choose a payment plan of either fortnightly or monthly.

You then fax the application together with a copy of the patient's identification (e.g. driver's licence) to EzyCredit for approval. For amounts of $500 to $4999, approval takes 30 minutes. For amounts of $5000 or more, approval takes four hours. No deposit is required.

Upon approval, the contract is emailed back to you to be printed out and signed by the patient.

Once the work is completed, the patient signs a form acknowledging the work has been performed and this, together with the original of the application form, a direct debit form, the photocopy of their identification and the signed contract is sent to EzyCredit.

The cost of the treatment less the fee listed in the table are transferred to your nominated bank account within 24 hours of receipt of the completed contract.