What Is LendingPoint?
LendingPoint is a fintech lending platform that offers personal loans and merchant financing across healthcare, home improvement, retail, and other verticals. In dental, LendingPoint operates as a point-of-sale financing option that practices can offer patients to cover treatment costs.
The patient applies at the practice (in-office or online), receives a decision in seconds, and if approved, selects from available loan offers. The practice receives funds and the patient repays LendingPoint over time through fixed monthly installments.
What sets LendingPoint apart from CareCredit and LendingClub is its underwriting model. LendingPoint uses proprietary technology to evaluate borrowers beyond just FICO scores, considering factors like income stability, employment history, and financial behavior patterns. This allows them to approve patients with FICO scores as low as 580 — a population that traditional healthcare lenders often reject.
The company acquired LoanHero's merchant portal technology in January 2018, which became the foundation of LendingPoint Merchant Solutions. They also partnered with ezVerify in 2017 to create ezCarePoint, which helps patients predict out-of-pocket expenses and apply for financing in one workflow. LendingPoint is backed by major investors including Warburg Pincus ($125 million preferred equity in 2021) and has secured credit facilities from Ares Management and Guggenheim Securities.
Who Is It For?
Practices with a credit-challenged patient base: If your patient demographics skew toward fair credit scores (580-669), LendingPoint will approve patients that CareCredit and LendingClub decline. This is especially relevant for practices in middle-income and working-class communities.
Practices wanting to maximize approval rates: The smartest approach is to offer LendingPoint alongside CareCredit and/or LendingClub as a safety net. Patients who get declined by the primary lender can be immediately offered LendingPoint as a second option, keeping them in the chair instead of walking out.
Practices with moderate treatment plan values: LendingPoint's $500-$36,500 range covers most dental procedures — cleanings through implants — but falls short for full-mouth rehabilitation cases that can exceed $40,000.
Elective and cosmetic practices: Cosmetic dentistry, veneers, whitening, and other elective procedures where patients need financing but may not have pristine credit.
Key Features
Low Credit Threshold: Approves patients with FICO scores as low as 580, the widest acceptance range of any major dental financing platform. CareCredit typically requires 620+, and LendingClub's best rates go to 660+.
Fast Decision Engine: Patients receive loan offers in seconds after submitting an application. The quick turnaround keeps the financing conversation from stalling during treatment presentation.
Loan Terms: $500 to $36,500 in loan amounts with terms from 24 to 72 months. APR ranges from 7.99% to 35.99%. Fixed monthly payments for patient predictability.
Merchant Portal: Online dashboard for practices to manage applications, track funded loans, and monitor financing program performance. Built on the LoanHero technology acquired in 2018.
No Enrollment Fee: Free for practices to sign up and offer LendingPoint financing. Costs come through per-transaction merchant fees on funded loans.
Mobile Experience: Highly rated mobile app (4.8 stars on Apple App Store, 4.2 on Google Play) for patient account management, though this is primarily for the borrower side.
Pros
- Approves patients with FICO scores as low as 580
- Fills the gap left by CareCredit and LendingClub declines
- Fast decision engine keeps the financing conversation moving
- No enrollment fee for practices
- Fixed monthly payments provide patient predictability
- Well-funded company backed by Warburg Pincus
Cons
- APR up to 35.99% is the highest of any major dental financing option
- Maximum loan amount of $36,500 falls short for major reconstruction cases
- Merchant fee rates not publicly disclosed
- Less dental-specific than CareCredit or LendingClub Patient Solutions
- No 0% promotional financing options
- Higher-risk borrower pool may mean more patient payment issues