Healthcare and Dental Practice Credit Card Trends

Methods of payment are rapidly evolving, and independent medical practices including dental clinics, chiropractors, and optometrists need to keep up with the latest mobile pay and other trends. Before you finalize plans to update your processing power, here are some important considerations.The payments landscape in the US has shifted dramatically during the past decade. In addition to the ongoing growth of credit and debit card use, in the past year, we’ve made the transition from magnetic stripe cards to EMV chip cards as the standard form of payment. As we approach 2017, EMV card use will be accompanied with continued growth of mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

With more than 300 million chip cards circulating in the US, and one in four smartphone owners using a mobile payment application, medical offices are bound to feel the impact of this shift in payments technology. This will only become more pronounced as more patients use credit and debit transactions to pay deductibles and electable procedures.

As electronic medical records and patient-facing software forces practices to upgrade payment systems and accept chip-enabled transactions, here are a few key considerations that should be made before updating your payment terminals.

• Understand your needs—Does your practice need a stand-alone terminal or an integrated practice management system before upgrading payments systems. There are advantages to each, for instance, stand-alone terminals tend to be less expensive and easier to upgrade.

• Account for emerging payments trends—Mobile payment adoption in the US is steadily growing. In fact, mobile payment forecasts conducted by eMarketer estimate a 210% growth in mobile payment transactions over the past year. As practices continue to upgrade payment systems for EMV standards, they should also make sure that those upgraded terminals support mobile and contactless payments to future-proof their business.

• Understand processing fees and rates—Prior to upgrading payment systems or changing payment processors, dental offices should understand the rates and fees involved because they vary from processor to processor. It’s important to select a payment processor with competitive rates and experience when upgrading systems to EMV.

• Upgrading payment systems is about more than just fraud prevention—The ability to accept chip-card transactions and mobile payments demonstrates to your patients that their valuable credit card information is important to you, and that you’re committed to providing them with the most up-to-date payments security solutions.

In many ways, the medical field and payments industries are moving on parallel paths in taking advantage of digital and connected technology. Leveraging mobile payments and EMV will ultimately build trust with your patients, as well as provide a better all-around patient experience.

MOVE FORWARD

Our motto is “Move Forward” and it is our desire to help your business positively grow in many ways whether you are looking for help transitioning to a new credit card processing platform, implementing a complete POS system for your business, or just trying to get a few ideas on how to best use your multi-tool credit card. Get started today by calling us at 608-819-8666 or visit us online anytime at www.MotusCC.com.