What are account-to-account payments?

SynchPay is the payment layer that sits between your practice management system and your bank account. This article explains what you can collect through SynchPay, how account-to-account (A2A) payments work, and why A2A is the method to offer first.

Two ways to collect, in one place. Every payment request shows the patient both options: pay by card, or pay directly from a bank account through SynchPay. Nothing is taken away from patients who prefer to pay by card.

Payments that post back to your system. A completed payment posts to the patient's ledger in your practice management system, so the balance you see in your software matches the money that lands in your bank account.

Collection wherever the patient is. Staff can take a payment over the phone from the portal, send a payment request by text before or after a visit, or let patients pay themselves through the patient portal or mobile app. The patient link opens in a browser, so there is no app to download and no smartphone requirement.

Cards on file, refunds, and receipts. Charge a stored card, add a new one, issue a full or partial refund with a receipt attached, and email the receipt to the patient from the portal.

Real-time status. Payment status updates in the portal, and card declines come back with a reason, such as insufficient funds, card disabled, or limit exceeded. The level of detail varies by card network and issuing bank.

Recurring authorization. A patient can authorize future payments up to a limit they set. Payments inside that limit run without asking the patient to re-authorize. In-house payment plans of up to 18 months are in development.

It costs the practice roughly four to five times less than card processing. A2A moves money directly from the patient's bank account to the practice's, so it never touches the card networks and never picks up card network fees.

No convenience fee for the patient. Where your practice applies a convenience fee to card payments, A2A carries none, which gives the patient a genuinely free way to pay rather than a more expensive one.

Fewer failed payments. SynchPay checks the patient's available balance in real time before the payment goes through, which takes insufficient-funds returns off your follow-up list.

Identity is verified in the flow. The patient confirms phone ownership with a one-time passcode, links the bank account through Plaid, and verifies identity with the last four digits of their Social Security number. No separate verification step for your staff to manage.

It is fast, and faster still the second time. First-time setup takes about 30 to 45 seconds. Returning patients who already use Plaid, which covers roughly 100 million Americans, complete a payment in about 10 seconds.

1. Staff enters the amount, the due date, and the patient's mobile number in the SynchPay portal.

2. The patient receives a text with a secure link.

3. The patient confirms their phone with a one-time passcode, links their bank account through Plaid, and verifies identity.

4. SynchPay checks the balance, pulls the funds, and credits the practice.

5. Staff sees the status update in the portal, and the payment posts to the patient's ledger.

Lead with the choice, not the fee. "You can pay by card, or pay directly from your bank account, which takes about 30 seconds and has no fee." Most patients take the free option when it is offered plainly, and the ones who prefer a card still have it.

• Convenience fee rules are configured per practice and per channel. A fee your practice applies to phone payments taken by staff may not apply when the patient pays themselves through the patient portal or the mobile app. Check your practice's fee matrix before quoting a total.

• Government-payer balances, including Medicare and Medicaid, cannot carry a convenience fee or dual pricing.

• A2A requires the patient to have a bank account. The card option is always shown alongside it.