Case study
DBC Chartered
Physiotherapy & Sports
Medicine
DBC is a physiotherapy and sports rehab provider with clinics in Dublin, Naas and Athlone. Founded as Dublin Back Clinic in 2002, the company provides specialist neck, back, upper limb and lower limb care for a diverse range of patients. DBC’s high performance rehab centre at University College Dublin looks after some of Ireland’s top athletes, including 2018 World Cup silver medallists, the Irish women’s hockey team.
Background
DBC’s clinics used to take most of their client payments in cash. According to Liam Heavin, this created a mountain of work for clinic staff.
“With cash, you need to count it, keep it safe, and physically go to the bank,” says Heavin. “Dealing with cards is a lot more convenient from the business’ side, and for customers it’s becoming habitual to carry less cash. With the advent of smartphone payments, that’s going to happen even more.”
Through the years, as card payments have grown more popular, DBC has enjoyed the increased efficiency in the payment process. According to research from Visa, cash transactions carry an average processing cost of 2.5 cents to the euro, whereas card transactions cost 1.6 cents. So while the company’s move to increased card usage was likely benefitting its bottom line Heavin was keen to look into the partnership between BOI Payment Acceptance and the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP) to ensure he was getting the best deal in the market.
Dependable hardware, affordable rates and excellent support for smartphone payments
The main drivers for switching to BOI Payment Acceptance were the need for:
- GPRS mobile card terminals with reliable connectivity;
- Affordable rates;
- Excellent support for smartphone payments.
“As the number of card payments is increasing, it’s really important we get the best rates possible. For every euro we take in with BOIPA, we’re paying a lower percentage than with our previous supplier. Overall, the big thing was to find a provider offering good value and no downtime regarding terminals and communication.” – Liam Heavin, Founder, DBC
Smoother transactions for clients and staff
One of DBC’s objectives in switching to BOIPA was to enable seamless payments for customers and staff.
According to Liam Heavin, switching to GPRS mobile card terminals was key to the process. “For two of our locations in particular, we needed the ability to have a card machine with a SIM, rather than a wired phone line connection,” he says.
“With BOIPA, the clinical and admin staff who take client payments have found the new terminals quick, easy and straightforward to use.”
SIM-based card terminals hold several advantages over terminals requiring a telephone connection, which often must share the connection with their location’s phoneline, resulting in missed calls and delayed payments.
One factor working against wireless terminals can be price, but Heavin reports no such complaints with BOIPA: “As far as I’m aware, they have the best rates on the market,” he says.
“In our market the patient pays themselves, so making that as convenient as possible is really important. A simple and seamless process for card payment is part of that.” – Liam Heavin.
Tapping into smartphone payments
Smartphone payments are on the up at DBC’s clinics. “From not existing a year ago, they probably account for 10-15% of transactions now, and that figure is growing all the time,” says Heavin. “It’s the expectation nowadays.”
DBC clients routinely use the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones to make smartphone payments via BOIPA card terminals. The cardholder verifies the transaction via thumbprint or facial recognition input to their phone – a measure providing far greater security than the average card transaction.
According to Heavin, having the BOI Payment Acceptance brand stamp of authority on DBC’s card terminals has encouraged customers to buy into the new technology. “There’s almost an in-built trust once they see the BOIPA logo,” he says. “They know that they can put the purchase through Apple Pay or Google Pay and it’ll be fine.”
“Smartphone payments are now expected and almost unquestioned. As there’s no limit on the payment amount, you can tap for whatever, which is important in our industry, where charges tend to exceed the limit for contactless payments. You don’t have to go for your wallet or card; you just hold up phone, and you pay.” – Liam Heavin
Conclusion
Switching to BOI Payment Acceptance has enabled DBC to provide siple and seamless payments at its clinics throughout the country – without breaking the bank. Using BOIPA’s GPORS mobile terminals, the company has been able to cut down on errors and inefficiencies in the payment process, and customer adoption of security-enhancing smartphone payments has been encouraged through association with the well-trusted BOI Payment Acceptance brand.
“The service works well” says DBC founder, Liam Heavin. “We haven’t had any card terminal downtime across any of the clinics, and the last time I checked, BOIPA’s rates were the best on the market. These improvements, plus smartphone payments being enabled, have made a big difference.”
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