People can pay for products and services on their cell phones or tablets (Brian 2016). Keith Drayer, “vice president of Henry Schein Financial Services (HSFS),” and Chris Lee, “president of Moneris’ US division,” cited an eMarketer estimate, in which there would be “a 210% growth in mobile payment transactions by the end of 2016” (2016). As more people use mobile payment services, dental practices could allow patients to use their mobile devices to pay for their treatments and services.
Mobile payments provide another option for patients to pay their bill. According to Michael Cruz, Office manager for Dee for Dentist, a private dental practice, while “the implementation [of Apple Pay into the practice] was simple,” “The biggest challenge… has been teaching customers how to pay with their phone” (Smith 2014). He also states, “I would recommend accepting Apple Pay if it doesn’t cost you anything to do it…’ ‘Offering your customers multiple ways to pay is always a convenience for them, and offering Apple Pay shows that your business is staying up to date with technology’” (Smith 2014). Offering mobile payment methods, such as Apple Pay as well as Google Wallet, may prove convenient for some patients. If dental practices have apps for their business, mobile payments on apps would benefit dental practices because “bills are paid faster and accounts stay more current. Research shows that simplifying the payment process will lead to more paid bills rather than delinquent accounts” (Stein 2013).
Dental practices could implement a variety of mobile services into their payment systems. For instance, they could allow patients to use Apple Pay in their app to pay for their treatments and services (“About Apple Pay for Merchants” 2018; Alexander 2016). Regarding security, according to Jordan Alexander, “marketing manager for Helcim Inc.,” one way Apple Pay protects their users’ debit and credit card information is by “[adopting] encryptions not unlike EMV chips, creating unique security codes and device numbers to counter EMV’s unique transaction numbers” (2016). Dental practices can also “implement [it into their] personal loyalty program and rewards system” (Alexander 2016). In addition to Apple Pay, dental practices could also allow patients to pay their bills in their app with Google Pay (“About Google Pay”). In Google Pay, Google secures debit and credit card information in its servers and “[issues] a virtual card to [the user’s] device, the Google Wallet Virtual Card” (Raghavan). This virtual card is used in transactions, preventing the vendor from viewing the patients’ cards’ information (Raghavan).
Patients can pay through their cell phones and tablets, either with Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or other services. To keep up with the times, clinics should allow patients pay their bills through their phones or tablets.
Works Cited
“About Apple Pay for merchants.” Apple Inc., January 24, 2018.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204274.
“About Google Pay.” Google. Accessed March 15, 2018.
https://support.google.com/pay/merchants/answer/6288970?hl=en.
Alexander, Jordan. “5 ways for your dental practice to improve the patient experience through
payment methods.” DentistryiQ, July 26, 2016. http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2016/07/5-ways-for-your-dental-practice-to-improve-the-patient-experience-through-payment-methods.html.
Brian. “What You Need To Know About Credit Card Processing.” Paycron, February 24, 2016.
https://www.paycron.com/credit-card-processing/.
Drayer, Keith and Chris Lee. “What dentists need to know before upgrading their payment
systems.” DentistryiQ, September 15, 2016. http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2016/09/what-dentists-need-to-know-before-upgrading-their-payment-systems.html.
Raghavan, Karthik. “Apple Pay vs Google Wallet: How They Work.” Investopedia. Accessed
March 15, 2018. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/010215/apple-pay-vs-google-wallet-how-they-work.asp.
Stein, Tanya. “Why leading dentists are choosing mobile technology for their offices.”
DentistryiQ, September 11, 2013. http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/09/why-leading-dentists-are-choosing-mobile-technology-for-their-offices.html.
Smith, Ashley. “These Businesses Are Already Putting Apple Pay to Work. How You Can,
Too.” Business News Daily, November 3, 2014. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7400-putting-apple-pay-to-work-and-how-you-can-too.html.
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