Ahead of the marcus evans Healthcare Leaders Forum 2021, read here an interview with Nick Grant discussing how healthcare providers can benefit from providing patients different payment services

1. Interview with: Nick Grant, Head of
Health, Openpay
“Healthcare providers can focus on
providing care, improve customer
experience and increase patient
conversion by offering patients more
time to pay for healthcare services,”
says Nick Grant, Head of Health,
Openpay.
Openpay is a sponsor company at the
marcus evans Healthcare Leaders
Forum 2021.
How is patient financing changing?
Some 56,000 Australians aged 20-49
cancelled private health insurance (PHI)
in the first half of 2020, according to
APRA. Rising premiums have collided
with an uncertain year, and general
sentiment towards financing has been
changing for some time now. In
addition, some 400,000 credit cards
were cancelled between March and
August 2020 - in part attributed to the
rise in Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)
services, and debit being favoured over
credit by younger generations.
What does this mean for the private
healthcare industry?
It means more consumers are opting to
fully fund their care, while using BNPL to
spread that cost to make any care they
need financially manageable. In fact,
when we surveyed Australians for a
report last year, a third of the
respondents told us they had recently
used BNPL to cover healthcare costs.
What is the current BNPL picture for
healthcare providers?
For healthcare providers, offering BNPL
can increase patient conversion,
improve the customer experience, and
increase the average transaction value
(ATV) in most modalities. For example,
a dental national provider saw an ATV
rise from AUD 325 to AUD 418 using
Openpay 3-month plans, right up to
AUD 3,579 across 12-month plans.
Adding to this, the financial benefits
include full upfront payment to the
healthcare practitioners and reductions
in finance administration.
Without this kind of cashflow
management solution, the result would
be patients delaying treatment, having
to choose between their physical health
and financial health. Or healthcare
providers having to offer cost spreading
themselves, which would disrupt their
cashflow. While Openpay acquires
customers indirectly through providers
and surgeries, the credit agreement is
made between Openpay and the
patient.
Openpay type solutions are fully
digitised, in keeping with payment
trends in recent years, and accessible
via mobile. Patients can use longer or
shorter plans depending on their needs
and financial circumstances. Unlike a
credit card there is a clear fee structure
designed to be paid off, and patients
that are struggling can work with
Openpay to adjust their payments when
needed.
This enables the relationship between a
healthcare provider and patient to be
focused solely on a patient’s health,
with the delivery of a modern payment
solution and the customer service taken
care of by Openpay.
What is next for healthcare and
BNPL?
At present, we see the biggest uptake in
dental, veterinary, optometry and
healthcare products, where patients are
comfortable using BNPL to access what
they need when they need it.
We see growth in the coming months
being driven by allied health services
and hospital care - fuelled by reduction
in PHI uptake alongside increased
patient comfort in using new financial
tools to spread the cost without using
credit cards.
This trend is not just isolated to
Australia. We are growing our
healthcare base in the UK and we intend
to do the same in the US through our
newly established office. The BNPL
healthcare sector there is relatively
underdeveloped, but patients have a
real need for clearer and more flexible
payment options.
Ultimately, we see patients benefiting
from the availability of a fully digitised
payment method with a clear plan to full
repayment, and fee structures that are
affordable, transparent and easy to
understand. This empowers better
health choices, and frees up providers
to focus on caring for their patients
today, whilst offering more time to pay.
Buy Now Pay Later for Healthcare is a
Win-Win for Patients and Providers
This enables
the relationship
between a
healthcare provider
and patient to be
focused solely on
a patient’s health

2. About Openpay
Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) is a fast-growing and highly differentiated player in the global 'Buy now pay later' (BNPL) payment
solutions market. The Company’s strong platform enables it to deliver the most flexible plans in the market with durations of 2–24
months and values of up to $20,000.
Openpay focuses on industries where it can make a true difference: Automotive, Healthcare, Home Improvement, Memberships
and Education; and its target customers are finance-savvy and of an older demographic who use Openpay plans as a cashflow
management tool.
Openpay provides services to Customers and Merchants in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and entered the US market, under the
brand name Opy, in December 2020.
www.openpay.com.au
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