Patient Refunds in a Heartbeat: Onbe’s Survey Prescribes Faster Healthcare Payouts

74% of patients stay loyal to providers that offer fast, error-free refunds

CHICAGO & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Onbe, a market-leading corporate disbursements platform, published its Winter 2025 Patient Refund Survey, revealing that timely, digital patient refunds can help boost satisfaction and retention. Over 50% of patients surveyed have experienced a delayed, lost or incorrect payment from their healthcare provider, sometimes leading to the loss of trust – or even a financial burden after waiting too long to receive a payment. With 71% stating they would be more likely to switch providers after a bad payment experience, digital refunds have emerged as a critical differentiator for healthcare providers looking to improve patient satisfaction.

Despite 70% of respondents saying modern, digital payments would be an improvement over their providers’ current refund process, 64% of patients still receive funds by paper check. Not just inconvenient and slow to arrive, checks pose a serious security risk for medical providers and cost as much as $12 each. Offering popular digital options alongside more traditional choices can reduce costs and risk for providers while giving patients faster, more secure ways to access their funds.

“We know that digital payouts offer recipients convenience and choice when receiving funds, and this survey further confirms the refund experience patients want from their providers,” said Sayid Shabeer, Chief Product Officer at Onbe. “By leveraging digital solutions to expand their patients’ choices, healthcare providers can transform refunds from a cause of inconvenience into a driver of satisfaction and retention.”

Other survey findings included:

• 72% respondents stated that a faster refund experience, like one with digital and virtual payments, would improve their opinion of their healthcare provider
• Nearly half of respondents received a patient refund check in the mail and were unsure why they received it, highlighting an opportunity for medical practices to provide clearer communication about the reason for the payment
• Of patients who experienced a lost, delayed or incorrect refund:
  • 36% spent extra time communicating with their provider to solve the problem
  • 23% lost trust in their provider
  • 22% experienced a financial burden because of the long wait for their funds to be returned

As more healthcare providers seek to improve efficiency in the face of continued labor shortages and high costs across the industry, evolving the payment process is a critical step to streamlining administrative practices. With a digital-led payout solution, providers can pay securely and compliantly while meeting their patients’ preferences for faster, more convenient and error-free refunds.

Learn more about Onbe’s healthcare payout solutions.

About Onbe

With more than 25 years of industry experience and offices in Chicago, Philadelphia and London, Onbe is a fintech that manages and modernizes customer and compensation payments for corporate clients ranging from mid-market to the Fortune 500. Onbe’s team of experts and technology platform offers clients a turnkey solution to offload their entire B2C payment operations, relieving them of the cost, complexity and risk that come with orchestrating these payments in-house. Backed by top-tier investors, Onbe delivers on today’s consumer expectations for instant, digital and seamless payments. To learn more, visit www.onbe.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Methodology

The Winter 2025 Healthcare Patient Refund Survey is the tenth iteration of Onbe’s monthly payments market research survey. The purpose of this survey is to learn how consumers prefer to receive a patient refund and to better understand the challenges they currently face when receiving these payments. Respondents were asked to complete a survey with 19 questions during December 2024. We received a total of 509 responses with a 47% qualifying rate, collected from across the United States and from demographics reflective of national diversity. Respondents must have been at least 18 years of age to qualify for the survey.