Digital Payment Evolution Reshapes Healthcare Financial Landscape

New study reveals dramatic shift in payment preferences as patients seek financial flexibility

CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising healthcare costs and evolving consumer payment preferences are combining to drive patients to seek flexible payment options that mimic retail experiences, leading providers to adopt digital payment systems and streamlined billing. Patients strongly prefer card payments, with 59% favoring debit cards and 39% credit cards. As consumers embrace digital wallets and online bill pay, healthcare providers must modernize their payment and communication systems to match expectations in other sectors — ultimately improving access, satisfaction, and patient loyalty.

These are just some of the findings detailed in the 2024 Healthcare Payment Trends and Future Outlook Report, a new national study published by TrustCommerce^®, a Sphere Company, and leading provider of end-to-end integrated healthcare payments and security software. The report consolidates insights and data points from TrustCommerce transaction data, a qualitative survey of healthcare financial personnel, a poll of 1,000 patients and 450 healthcare organizations conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Mastercard, and other third-party sources.

Key findings from the report include:

• 96% of healthcare organizations in the study accept credit card payments
• 69% of providers offer flexible payment plans to ease patients' immediate financial burden
• On average, 4 out of 5 providers identify updating billing and payment systems and expanding payment options as key focus areas for their organizations
• As payment processes evolve, the need for strong cybersecurity is paramount –– healthcare providers are prioritizing the protection of patient data by enabling secure storage of payment information and expanding secure payment options

"Our research reveals that healthcare organizations can significantly enhance patient satisfaction and financial accessibility by offering streamlined payment experiences," said John Welch, Chief Product Officer, TrustCommerce, a Sphere Company. "Patients increasingly prefer providers that allow them to save payment methods, choose from diverse options like credit cards and mobile wallets, and access flexible payment plans. This creates an opportunity for providers to build trust while ensuring secure and timely transactions using integrated payment solutions for greater efficiency."

The complete study, the 2024 Healthcare Payment Trends and Future Outlook Report, is available at no charge here.

About TrustCommerce^® 
TrustCommerce^®, a Sphere company, is the leading financial technology company trusted by the nation's largest health systems. The TrustCommerce integrated payment platform can reduce friction and facilitates secure, compliant patient payments. Using TrustCommerce to enhance the patient financial experience and untangle payment workflows, clients can securely process payments anytime and be connected with core software including EHRs and PMs. Our integrated software and payments solutions help organizations increase payment collection while delivering industry-leading security and compliance instruments, and a single payment stack standardized for reporting and reconciliation. Learn more at trustcommerce.com. 

Media Contact:
Michelle Noteboom
Amendola Communications 
[email protected]

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SOURCE TrustCommerce, a Sphere Company