In this post, we’ll cover the standard credit card processing rates for merchant services, and how you can reduce your fees to saves thousands per year.

Whether you’re a practice owner or manager, you’re familiar with how costly merchant services and credit card processing fees can be for your clinic. While the benefits of contactless payments and mobile payments for your veterinary clinic definitely outweigh the cost of fees, we want to go over various credit card processing solutions so you can offer pet owners e-commerce payment options in a streamlined and cost-effective way.

Understanding Credit Card Processing Fees

Did you know the average 2-DVM veterinary practice is paying around $43,000 per year just in credit card processing fees? At first glance, your provider’s rate doesn’t seem too costly, but as practice owners know, they add up quickly and could be costing you more staff, better equipment, or a reliable cash flow.

Regardless of the veterinary services the DVM provides, your merchant fee is based on whether the debit card was present or not present during the point of sale. To avoid liability for the clinic or merchant processor, “Card Present” transactions are encouraged through lower rates, while fees for “Card Not Present” are processed at a higher rate.

Curbside checkout or online payments, for instance, would be considered “Card Not Present” which leaves some vet clinics looking for creative solutions to cut fees while still providing convenience to millennial or immunocompromised clients.

Capturing Real-time Payments at Checkout 

Through our wifi-enabled credit card machines (terminals), you’re able to conduct “Card Present” transactions from anywhere inside or outside the clinic while cutting the back and forth for your staff.

All payments collected through our payment terminals are also synched to your practice management software to ensure you’re saving money and time with a centralized payment system.

Text-to-Pay or Chat-to-Pay

For e-commerce payments, our text to pay feature allows your team to capture upfront while providing extra convenience to pet owners. Rather than waiting for invoices to be paid, you can simply find a customer on our platform, and send their invoice via text message or chat with one easy link, letting your team focus on health care and exam room duties.

Text-to-Pay is HIPPA compliant for medical office merchant services, and an added convenience for your team and customers.

Veterinary Payment Processing Fees

Now that you’ve learned how rates are processed and seen different methods to collect payments, we want to help practice owners and managers take their savings even further.

Here at Otto we’ve created a few ways clinics can keep the convenience they’ve come to enjoy during the pandemic, while also offering the lowest flat fee in the industry.