Adopting a one-stop screening system for online payments to accelerate the shift to cashless payment in the dental industry

SCO Group, which operates medical tech and medical payment businesses for the dental industry, introduced SB Payment Services' (SBPS) online Credit Card Payment to its Pay Light Plus service in 2022. When it was first introduced, SBPS provided online Credit Card Payment to approximately 7,000 dental clinics in less than a month by utilizing a system that screens a large number of affiliated stores at once. Currently, it is possible to introduce new affiliated stores in as little as one week, and as of November 2024, the number of affiliated stores has increased to approximately 14,000 clinics. SCO Group Executive Vice President Hikaru Tamaru said, "The shift to cashless payment in the dental industry is accelerating."

Accelerating digital transformation in the dental industry

"Pay Light," developed by the SCO Group, is a medical tech service for the dental industry. It offers "Pay Light Plus," which allows patients to make dental appointments and pay their bills on their smartphones, "Pay Light Call," which uses AI to take phone calls for dental clinics, and services to support opening a dental practice.

"Pay Light Plus" allows patients to select payment methods at the reception desk of a dental clinic and notify their smartphone to make online payments. It is said that it is the first time in the dental industry that various payments can be made with a single smartphone.
The cashless payment service "Pay Light Cashless" is a service that provides payment methods such as Credit Card Payment, Electronic money, and code payment at payment terminals for dental clinics.

According to the SCO Group, the dental industry is still one step behind in terms of digitalization, with fax transactions and cash payments still common. Although the need for private medical treatments such as implants is increasing and opportunities for large payments are on the rise, the fact that many clinics do not accept credit cards has been an issue for the industry.

The Japanese custom of "only going to the dentist when you have the intention to receive treatment" is also a major issue. Although oral diseases are on the decline throughout Japan, about 70% of adults suffer from periodontal disease. The proportion of people with advanced periodontal disease has not improved, so it is necessary for people to visit the dentist regularly.

The SCO Group hopes to further raise public health awareness by developing and providing its own products, and aims to create a world in which every citizen can visit a dentist frequently.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's notice and SBPS are supporting the initiative

Normally, the screening process for registering credit card member stores or introducing cashless payment is done one registration at a time, so in some cases it can take several weeks for the screening to be approved. It also takes a lot of work to connect the systems. By using SBPS's bulk screening system, it is said that payments can be used in as little as one week.

As many dental clinics were rushing to introduce Credit Card Payment, SBPS used a system that allows it to simultaneously screen many affiliated clinics at once. At the time they adopted SBPS's Online Payment Service, there were approximately 7,000 "Pay Light Plus" affiliated clinics, and SBPS says it screened them in less than a month. Since then, it has continued to screen new affiliated dental clinics at a rate of 400 to 500 per month. Currently, there are approximately 14,000 affiliated clinics.

According to Vice President Tamaru, the introduction of SBPS's Online Payment Service has contributed to the entire dental industry going cashless. "Until now, there was an image that cashless payments could not be used for insured treatment. In September 2023, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare decided that it was acceptable to use cashless payments, which led to the introduction of cashless payments in insured medical treatment. The decision of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the speedy review by SBPS are supporting the cashless movement in the dental industry," said Vice President Tamaru.

The Japan Dental Association is also working with the SCO Group to promote cashless payments in the dental industry. Dental clinics that have introduced "Pay Light Plus" have promoted the ability to make cashless payments, which has led to the acquisition of new patients.

Message from SBPS Sales Representative

In 2022, we introduced our Credit Card Payment to the "Pay Light Plus" service provided by the SCO Group. When we first introduced it, it was an almost unprecedented initiative to introduce it to approximately 7,000 dental clinics at once, but by utilizing SBPS's system of reviewing a large number of affiliated stores at once, we were able to offer Credit Card Payment in less than a month, and we are very pleased that we were able to utilize SBPS's strengths to be of service. Currently, new implementation is possible in as little as one week, and we hope to continue supporting our affiliated stores to meet their requests in the future.

SB Payment Service Corp.
First Sales Headquarters
Sales Department 2, Section 1
Yuta Yamada