Openpay announces partnership with Clear Aligner Excellence

Digital payment solution Openpay has announced a partnership with exclusive dental network Clear Aligner Excellence, that serves to remove the financial barriers many Australians face when it comes to receiving dental and orthodontic treatment.

Openpay will now be the preferred buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider for the growing number of certified Network Partners within the Clear Aligner Excellence network.

This new partnership allows eligible patients receiving treatment from a practice within the Clear Aligner Excellence network to spread the cost over 2-18 months, for treatment costs up to $15,000 without paying interest.

With greater choice and payment flexibility, these payment plans which extend beyond the traditional "pay-in-four" model are therefore well suited to helping Australians access the orthodontic treatment they need, without the stress of managing unexpected or large lump sum bills.

In turn, practices benefit from receiving upfront payment from patients, while offering flexible payment plans that can improve efficiencies, increase average transaction value and cashflow.

Data suggests that Openpay dental patients generally spend $378 across a 2-month plan, with this rising to $2,579 for 6 months and $7,112 for 12-month plans*. This highlights how patients utilise flexible, longer-term plans to access more expensive dental treatments.

One of Australia's most exclusive networks of dentists and a pioneer of modern-day orthodontic education, the Clear Aligner Excellence membership base is expected to grow significantly over the next two years with more than one thousand providers anticipated to join the network by 2024.

Clear Aligner Excellence supports dental practices to unlock the untapped clear aligner opportunity in both their practice and in their community.

It does so by helping members:

• Attract new patients - on average quadrupling the number of new patients;
• Maximise outcomes - by increasing clinical confidence and reducing treatment times;
• Reduce overheads - by an average of 30%; and
• Add $270K in annual revenue growth.

In this sense offering Openpay to its members will help increase the uptake of clear aligner and orthodontic treatments by reducing the financial barriers to entry.

Declan Harrington, Head of Healthcare at Openpay, said: "At Openpay, we're committed to offering longer more flexible plans which are suited to helping Aussies be more proactive about and investing in their health, something many Australians feel priced out of. In the case of the Clear Aligner market, we're proud to partner with market-leading providers to help offer alternative payment solutions for dental treatment, ensuring Aussies don't have to choose between their orthodontic and financial health."

Dr Geoff Hall and Dr Jesse Green, Directors at Clear Aligner Excellence, said: "Having flexible finance options available is key to improving case acceptance as the cost of orthodontic treatment as a lump sum can be overwhelming for patients. We are delighted to work with Openpay as one of our preferred suppliers of flexible patient finance. Through this relationship, Clear Aligner Excellence practices are set to enjoy a higher number of new case starts, enabling them to treat more patients and increase revenue".

* Data provided is an average of Openpay dental plans from the last 12 months (June 21-June 22).