Q: Should an ophthalmology practice offer CareCredit or PatientFi?

How CareCredit and PatientFi compare for an eye practice

A:Either can work, and the bigger gain is offering financing to every patient: in a CareCredit study, more than 7 in 10 (72%) ophthalmology providers agreed cost may be a barrier to scheduling care, yet only 35% of patients said they were offered a financing solution.¹ PatientFi explicitly lists ophthalmology among the providers it serves.²

The two lenders differ on terms a practice can compare. CareCredit says enrolled practices are paid directly within two business days, and patients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score.³ PatientFi says practices get paid immediately, uses a soft credit check only, and claims an 85%+ patient approval rate from its own data on file.²

Both promote zero interest that depends on paying in full. CareCredit's promotional financing is deferred interest, so a patient who does not pay the promo balance in full within the promo period is charged interest from the purchase date.⁴ PatientFi says every approved patient receives a zero-interest offer, with zero interest "when paid in full during promotional period."² A practice choosing between them should ask each lender for its merchant fee in writing. For more about how patient financing affects treatment decisions, see our patient financing evidence.