> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.practiceownersguide.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Patient financing

> Third-party financing for big cases: CareCredit, Cherry, Sunbit, and how the merchant fees and risk actually work.

For "higher value" treatment plans, third-party financing often decides whether the
patient says yes. The lender pays you upfront (minus a merchant fee) and owns
the repayment risk.

## The main options

| Provider       | Model                                            | Typical merchant fee                    | Notes                                                                                     |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| CareCredit     | Healthcare credit card, deferred-interest promos | Roughly 5-10% depending on promo length | Largest patient base; deferred interest can bite patients who miss the payoff date        |
| Cherry         | Point-of-sale installment loans                  | Varies by plan                          | Fast application at checkout, popular in dental and aesthetics                            |
| Sunbit         | POS installments, high approval rates            | Varies                                  | Built for approving thin-credit patients                                                  |
| In-house plans | You carry the balance                            | Card-on-file + your default risk        | Fine for small balances; for large ones you become an unlicensed lender, keep terms short |

## How to run it

Offer financing during the treatment-plan conversation, not after the patient
balks. Train the front desk on a two-minute application flow. Treat the
merchant fee as a cost of acceptance: netting 92-95% today usually beats a
40% chance of full payment over six months. Post the funded amount and the
fee separately so [reconciliation](/concepts/reconciliation) stays clean.

<Note>
  Compliance basics: present options neutrally (steering patients into credit
  they don't understand creates CFPB and state exposure), never apply on a
  patient's behalf, and keep financing out of Medicare/Medicaid cost-sharing
  decisions.
</Note>

## Related

* [Patient responsibility](/guides/patient-responsibility)
* [Choose your POS system](/guides/choose-your-pos)
* [Send patient refunds](/guides/send-patient-refunds)
* [What "reconciled" means](/concepts/reconciliation)