Merchant processing might be one of the most important parts of your practice. Your fantastic service and dental care are essential to your patients’ health, but you’re not handing out sparkling white smiles for free. Providing your patients with as many options as possible to pay for your services will not only get you paid faster, it will increase the satisfaction of your patients by simplifying how they pay for your impeccable talents. With may options available for merchant services, how do you know you’re selecting the right partner? This post outlines 4 essential elements your Merchant Services should have.

1. PCI Compliance
   Just like you protect your patients’ PHI, their financial information must also be protected. Being a merchant, you are going to deal with sensitive card information. It is imperative you check the system and training you have been provided are in accordance with Payment Card Industry Rules (PCI). You should ask your provider right away if they are compliant with PCI rules and make sure you are familiar with how their system treats sensitive data. All merchant service providers are required to become PCI Compliant. PCI Compliant Level 1 is the highest level of PCI privacy and security recognized by the PCI Security Standards Council, and you want to use a provider who has reached this level.
2. It should be integrated with your Dental Practice Management Software.
   With merchant services seamlessly integrated into Open Dental, payment processing is done once, done everywhere. This reduces data entry for your staff and minimizes human error.
3. It should make payment collection, tracking, and dispute management easy for you.
   • From standalone terminals to card readers and the ability to collect electronic signatures, payment collection should be a breeze for your staff.
   • You should be able to see transaction history, chargebacks, deposits, and online statements quickly and easily, all in one place.
   • You should have a tool to manage chargebacks and disputes.
   • Other services like Patient Financial Assessments can help your practice make objective ability-to-pay decisions and better collect on services rendered.
4. Making payments should be easy and convenient for your patients, with several ways to pay.
   • Automated Recurring Transactions, letting you set your patient up on a payment plan that will automatically draw payments from the patient’s account and post directly to your Open Dental account on a recurring basis.
   • ACH check processing allows your practice to accept electronic checks. This service has lower rates than credit card processing and will add yet another way patients can pay for your services.
   • Online payments allow patients to make payments anytime, anywhere. When you’re using integrated merchant services, you see an instant notification in Open Dental that online payments are waiting to be processed – done and done.
     
     Patients can now make online payments in the Patient Portal using PayConnect.

PayConnect Merchant Services from DentalXChange are designed to help your practice get paid as quickly and as easily as possible. If you currently have a DentalXChange account and are interested in PayConnect, please call (800) 576-6412 Ext. 472. If you are new to DentalXChange, please call (800) 576-6412 Ext. 455 to learn more about PayConnect and how we can help your practice.