With the advent of new technologies, payment collection has diversified for businesses of all sizes. Our society has moved further away from cash and checks by relying heavily on debit and credit cards. Now, many businesses are finding that consumers want to use contactless payment options in place of cards.
Contactless payments include both mobile wallets and text payment options. Mobile wallets are available through smartphone providers like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung. Text payment options let businesses send a payment request via text message to their clients for easy collection.
Weave offers its users a complete payment platform that accepts traditional payments (cash, checks, and cards) along with contactless payment options. Text to Pay is our text payment feature. It allows businesses to collect payments in a way that’s simple, secure, and effective at a time when many customers are concerned about the safety of payment portals.
We recently commissioned an independent survey of 750 healthcare providers and their clients. The study revealed some interesting facts about how practices are handling the unique circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog post discusses how the simplicity of Text to Pay makes collections easy despite the difficulty of contemporary conditions.
Maximize your potential
Although texting is becoming a fundamental method of communication for healthcare practices, most providers feel like they haven’t explored the full potential of their text outreach. In fact, only 19% of the healthcare professionals in our survey said they’re using text messaging to its fullest potential. One of the best ways to maximize your office’s texting potential is by adopting Text to Pay.
Our customers are already using text messaging to establish curbside waiting rooms that reduce the chance of outbreak in your office. They’re also notifying clients about upcoming appointments and gathering online reviews with texts. Adding a text payment option makes your text outreach more robust and anticipates texting as the future of business communication.
Neutralize the effects of the pandemic
Some healthcare providers feel that their standard mode of operation shouldn’t be altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve always been safe. That may be true, but client opinions are being changed by the threat of this new virus. 71% of practices said COVID-19 has increased the demand for Text to Pay.
Even if your office is doing everything in its power to properly socially distance and protect both employees and customers, payment portals can make people uncomfortable. Recognizing that patients want contactless payment options is simply understanding shifts in demand. Text to Pay resolves public health concerns along with changes in customer service preferences. "We have been using Weave as our office phone system for about 3 years now and we love it! It integrates seamlessly with our software and constantly updates. We use the text feature all day long. Patients love being able to text back and not have to answer a phone call. I highly recommend this system "-Barb Paz
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Prepare for growth
One of the interesting statistics in the study commissioned by Weave is the difference between high-growth and low-growth practices. Those providers that emphasize high-growth were 40% more likely to say Text to Pay improves the patient experience. High-growth practices are more attuned to trends in today’s market, and they see the value of Text to Pay.
Text to Pay improves the patient experience in a number of ways. It gives them more payment options, making it more likely that they’ll be satisfied with your payment platform. It meets the communication preferences of the younger generation of patients, who tend to want more text messaging with their providers. Text to Pay also protects customers from germs and viruses in a way that other payment options don’t.
Consolidate your payments
Contactless payments that aren’t integrated with your traditional payment collection can be more of a hassle than they’re worth. That’s why 69% of the practices in our study wanted payments and merchant services on one platform. The beauty of Weave Payments is that it brings all your payment options together in a complete payment platform.
Payment processing for both contactless payments and traditional payments is easy with Weave Payments. There are no upfront or monthly credit card processing fees, and once you’ve got a patient’s credit card information on file, you can begin to push for text payments. This payment processing is all powered by Stripe, one of the largest and most secure payment companies.
Install contactless options
What types of contactless options do patients want to see in healthcare practices? Well, in the survey we commissioned, the top ways clients want to go contactless are a credit card tap option, mobile payments, and plexiglass dividers. A tap option and plexiglass dividers still require some physical proximity, while Text to Pay offers foolproof social distancing.
When offices add Text to Pay as a payment option, there doesn’t need to be any in-person conversations following appointments. Once patients receive essential services, they can walk straight to their cars without a stop at your front desk. Your team can send them a payment request that clients can respond to in the parking lot or from their own homes.
Mitigate perceived risk
Payment portals are touched by dozens of people each day, and a very small portion of them use gloves. Because of this shared surface, 43% of the patients in our survey said it’s riskier to touch a payment portal in a healthcare practice than in other businesses. Whether or not this is true is almost irrelevant; providers are responsible with making their clients safe and helping them feel safe.
Adopting Text to Pay not only helps healthcare practices exhibit concern for the health of their employees and patients, but it also simplifies life for both groups. Employees have to juggle fewer clients at the front desk and don’t have to stress about reminding customers to maintain social distancing. Patients are relieved of the stress derived from using a payment portal during a pandemic.
Transition to contactless payments
It’s a bad idea to limit your payment options. Studies show that increasing payment options helps businesses increase their profits. However, 67% of healthcare providers said they want to transition from credit cards to Text to Pay. Successful practices will allow credit card payments while promoting contactless payments.
The benefit of Weave’s complete payment platform is that it makes all traditional payment methods possible as your business is pushing for more contactless payment processing. Even with a tap option, in-person credit card processing can break social distancing protocol. To be sure that your employees and patients are being safe, it’s best to transition to contactless payments.
Show clients you care
Although healthcare clients aren’t as enthusiastic about contactless payments, many of them would like to see a transition away from credit cards. 50% of patients want to see a transition from credit cards to Text to Pay. This group is likely the younger generation, who want to text more in general.
Another part of our survey showed that older clients prefer receiving calls from their healthcare providers, while younger clients prefer text messages. The divide here is comparable. Half of your patients are not going to want to try Text to Pay, but the other half are ready to switch over to a simpler, safer method of payment processing.
Improve office hygiene
Most healthcare practices have increased their dedication to hygiene since the government tightened regulations in response to COVID-19. Providers now clean their facilities more often and offer their employees and customers more personal protective equipment. Patients want to see this dedication to hygiene in the payment processing arena; 68% of them think Text to Pay is more hygienic than other payment solutions.
It’s certainly feasible to ask employees to clean payment portals upon every use. We’ve all seen workers doing this sort of thing at grocery stores and other vendors. However, it’s much easier to circumvent the hygiene problem by adding Text to Pay to your practice.
Fight delays with text payments
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our economy. Healthcare practices are no exception. 93% of patients are delaying care until the crisis eases. Even though regulations have lifted in many places, providers are still faced with the prospect of bringing clients back through their doors.
Text to Pay can incentivize customers to return to your office. By promising customers contactless waiting rooms, quality essential services, and contactless check out, your office can embrace the new normal and help patients get over their reservations. Text to Pay is a key piece of this equation.
Simplify your payment collection with Weave
By creating a complete payment platform that fits inside our complete business toolbox, Weave offers healthcare practices increased payment processing options while simplifying their day-to-day collections. Contactless payments like Text to Pay are the future of payment processing.
Text to Pay protects employees and patients from health risks. They also give both groups more freedom, letting them choose how they interact outside of essential services. Transitioning from credit card processing to Text to Pay is a must for high-growth practices looking toward the future of business communication.
Contact us today for a free demo of our text payment option.
