If you are pricing a full-arch dental case, a hair transplant, bariatric surgery or an IVF cycle, the number that matters is not the monthly payment on the brochure. It is the total you hand over by the end. Proceed Finance is built around long terms, and long terms are exactly where total cost hides.
This page explains what Proceed Finance actually is, what it publishes about rates and terms as of September 2026, and how a fixed-rate amortizing loan differs from the deferred-interest medical credit card sitting next to it on the same counter. Nothing here is a recommendation about whether to borrow. It is the math and the terms so you can run your own numbers.
What Is Proceed Finance?
Proceed Finance is a patient lender that specializes in large elective cases. It is best known in large-case dentistry (full-arch implants, full-mouth reconstruction), and providers in hair restoration, cosmetic surgery, bariatrics and fertility use the same style of long-term installment product.
The corporate structure matters because it tells you who you actually owe. The disclosure at the bottom of every Proceed Finance page states that program loans “are provided by a variety of lenders” and that Proceed Finance (legally Med-Den Funding, LLC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Optum Bank. Its patient FAQ adds that repayment is directed to Security First Bank, the loan servicer, so that is who bills you, takes your payments and handles hardship calls.
The key structural point: these are unsecured closed-end term loans, not revolving lines of credit. Proceed states this plainly to providers. Once the loan closes, the funds go straight to your provider, usually the next business day.
How It Works
The process runs through the provider’s office, not through Proceed’s website. You cannot walk up and get a Proceed loan for any provider you like; financing is available only through participating practices.
Prequalification is a soft pull. Proceed’s patient FAQ states that prequalification has no impact on your credit score and returns an instant decision. Critically, the prequalification offer always includes the APR, so you can see your real rate before committing. That is unusual and useful.
Accepting the loan is a hard pull. Proceed is explicit that moving forward “will result in a new credit inquiry on your credit file (also known as a ‘hard hit’).”
Underwriting is thin but real. No documentation is needed to prequalify. To fund, Proceed requires a government-issued ID and proof of employment, and sometimes more. It says the review typically takes 10 minutes or less.
Offers are risk-rated. Not every approved borrower gets every term. On its 12-year term page, Proceed says plainly that “only your most well-qualified patients will receive a 12-year offer.”
The money is gone before your treatment is. Funds are paid to the provider up front. Proceed’s own FAQ warns that you are obligated to make payments regardless of the timing of your treatment, and that cancelling requires a written refund request to both the provider and Proceed. You still owe payments while a refund claim is pending. If your procedure is staged over months, that is a real risk to understand before you sign.
What It Costs
Proceed does not publish a single APR range on its consumer pages. What it does publish are dated payment examples, which let you back into the rates it is actually quoting.
| Loan size and term | APR used in the disclosure | Monthly payment | Total repaid | Cost of credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 over 36 months | 6.99% | about $154 | about $5,557 | about $557 |
| $5,000 over 72 months | 8.99% | $91 (published) | about $6,552 | about $1,552 |
| $25,000 over 72 months | 9.99% | about $463 | about $33,337 | about $8,337 |
| $25,000 over 144 months | 10.99% | $314 (published) | about $45,216 | about $20,216 |
| $50,000 over 144 months | 10.99% | $627 (published) | about $90,288 | about $40,288 |
The $91, $314 and $627 payments are Proceed’s own published figures on its providers and 12-year term pages. The rest are calculated from the APRs in those same disclosures using standard amortization, and they reproduce Proceed’s published payments to within a dollar. Proceed’s disclosure states these examples are “for the most well-qualified borrowers” and that all rates are as of 02/2026 and subject to change.
Sources disagree on the outer edges of the range, so here is the honest picture. Proceed’s own current disclosures show quoted APRs from 6.99% to 10.99%. A participating provider page (Bauer Dental Center) advertises Proceed rates “as low as 5.99% APR” with approved credit. An older company-provided profile in Implant Practice US described Proceed as starting rates at 4.99% and capping them at 15.99%, and as funding FICO scores from 640 up, but that same profile cites a $55,000 maximum and 8-year terms, both of which Proceed has since raised, so treat its rate figures as stale. The defensible statement as of September 2026: expect something in the high single digits to mid teens, and do not rely on any advertised floor until your prequalification offer shows you a number.
Other published terms, as of September 2026:
- Loan amounts: $1,500 to $75,000. State minimums differ: $3,000 in Colorado and Georgia, $6,000 in Massachusetts.
- Terms: 24 to 144 months for loans above $7,500; up to 72 months for loans of $1,500 to $7,500.
- Minimum monthly payment: $50.
- Origination fee to the patient: none disclosed. Proceed tells patients there are “no hidden fees,” no down payment and no prepayment penalty.
- Provider fee: 3.9% on loans of $1,500 to $7,500 as of February 2026, unchanged for larger loans. You do not pay this directly, but it is a merchant cost, which is why asking for a straight cash price is always worth a shot.
- Autopay discount: Proceed says enrolling in automatic payments through Security First Bank earns a rate reduction. It does not publish the size.
A worked example on a realistic case
Take a $25,000 full-arch implant case, which is squarely in Proceed’s target range. Compare it to what full-arch implants cost without insurance before you assume the quote itself is fair.
At 10.99% APR over 144 months, the payment is about $314 and you repay roughly $45,200 in total. The cost of credit is about $20,200, or 80% of the amount you borrowed.
Take the same $25,000 at 9.99% over 72 months. The payment jumps to about $463, but the total repaid is about $33,300 and the cost of credit is about $8,300.
Same lender, same borrower, same procedure. Choosing the 12-year payment instead of the 6-year payment costs roughly $11,900 more. Long terms are a monthly-payment product, not a cheap-money product. If a practice steers you toward the longest term because “the payment fits,” that is the number to run yourself.
Who It’s Good For and Who Should Skip It
It can make sense if: the procedure is genuinely elective and not eligible for hospital financial assistance, the amount is large enough that no card will hold it, you want a fixed rate and a payoff date rather than a revolving balance, and you have compared the quoted APR against a credit union personal loan.
Look elsewhere first if: the care is medically necessary and delivered at a hospital. The CFPB’s guidance is direct on this point: your provider may be required to offer financial assistance that reduces or eliminates the bill, and putting the bill on a credit product first can make that assistance harder to get. Start with hospital charity care and an in-house interest-free payment plan before any lender.
Also skip it if you have not price-shopped. Financing does not change the price, it changes who holds the balance. Run the quote through our fair price tool and read how to negotiate medical bills first. A 15% price reduction beats a 2-point APR reduction on almost any term.
Proceed Finance vs. a Deferred-Interest Medical Credit Card
This is the comparison most patients are actually making at the front desk, because both products are usually offered in the same conversation.
| Proceed Finance loan | Typical medical credit card promotion | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit type | Closed-end installment loan | Revolving credit with a promotional plan |
| Rate | Fixed for the life of the loan | Promotional rate, then the card’s purchase APR |
| Interest structure | Simple interest, fully amortizing | Often deferred interest, charged retroactively |
| What happens if you run long | Nothing; the schedule already includes interest | All interest since the purchase date is added at once |
| Amounts | $1,500 to $75,000 | Commonly capped in the low tens of thousands |
| Terms | 24 to 144 months | CFPB found medical card and loan terms typically run 3 to 60 months |
| Prequalification | Soft pull, APR disclosed | Usually a soft pull, then a hard pull to open |
The deferred-interest mechanic is the real difference. With an amortizing loan, missing the ideal payoff date costs you nothing extra because the interest was already priced in. With deferred interest, missing the promotional deadline by one dollar triggers every dollar of interest that accrued since day one.
That is not a hypothetical. In its May 2023 report, the CFPB found that people paid $1 billion in deferred interest on healthcare charges from 2018 to 2020, on almost $23 billion of purchases across more than 17 million transactions, and that consumers incurred interest on 20% of healthcare purchases made with deferred-interest products between 2015 and 2020, rising to about 34% for people with credit scores below 619. The CFPB also put the typical medical credit card APR at 26.99% at that time, against roughly 16% for general-purpose cards.
For a side-by-side on the card products, see our guides to medical credit cards, CareCredit, Cherry and Alphaeon Credit.
The Bottom Line
Proceed Finance is one of the more transparent products in patient lending: fixed rate, no patient-side fees disclosed, a soft-pull prequalification that shows you the APR before you commit, no prepayment penalty, and no deferred-interest trap. Those are real advantages over a promotional card.
The catch is duration. A 144-month term on a $25,000 case adds roughly $20,000 in interest, and Proceed’s marketing frames that as making treatment “look more like a phone bill.” Prequalify (it is free and does not touch your score), then take the shortest term whose payment you can actually sustain, and price the same loan at a credit union before you sign. Check the underlying procedure cost first, whether that is a hair transplant, dental implants or bariatric surgery, because the cheapest financing is always a smaller balance.