Cherry

What Cherry does

Cherry Technologies, Inc. is a point-of-sale patient financing platform that enables healthcare providers to offer installment loans for elective medical procedures. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, Cherry serves a registered base of more than 60,000 healthcare providers with over 20,000 active providers, spanning dental, medical aesthetics, plastic surgery, vision, hearing, and veterinary verticals. The company's core products are Cherry Payment Plans (with both 0% APR and interest-bearing options at APRs up to 35.99%) and a shorter-duration Pay-in-4 product, delivered through a Provider Portal and consumer-facing iOS and web applications. The technology stack is built on cloud-native AWS infrastructure and uses AI-driven underwriting that performs soft credit checks, returns decisions in approximately 60 seconds, and supports approval rates reported at 80-90%. Loans are originated through Lead Bank, with Cherry's family of NMLS-registered entities (Cherry Technologies Inc., Cherry Payments LLC, Cherry LLC, and Cherry Retail Installment LLC) operating the platform under multi-state lending and money transmission licensing covering 40+ U.S. states.

Cherry generates revenue primarily through merchant discount fees on financed transactions, interest income on installment loans, late fees, NSF fees, and credit card processing fees (2.99% on card-funded payments). The company raised a Series C in 2024 alongside a debt facility, and in June 2026 closed a $350 million asset-backed securitization (Cherry Securitization Trust 2026-1) to fund loan origination. Go-to-market combines direct sales to healthcare practices with ecosystem partnerships, including integrations with the Clerri dental membership platform and Allergan Aesthetics' Allē loyalty program, embedding Cherry financing into the patient journey of elective procedures. Headcount is reported in the 501-1,000 range, consistent with a growth-stage fintech investing in sales, underwriting, and engineering capacity.

The business model is a hybrid of merchant-fee economics (positioning Cherry as cheaper than CareCredit, Sunbit, and PatientFi, with claims of up to 50% savings on merchant fees) and consumer credit economics (interest income plus ancillary fees), underwritten on a soft-pull basis to maximize provider-side approval rates. Key forward-looking ambition is reaching $5B+ in annual processing volume by the end of 2026, supported by expansion into veterinary, audiology, medical weight loss, and high-end dental verticals.

Name

Cherry

Legal name

Cherry Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://withcherry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Cherry Technologies operates a point-of-sale patient financing platform that enables healthcare providers to offer installment plans for elective procedures, serving 20,000+ active providers across dental, medical aesthetics, and other specialties via AI-driven underwriting and a mobile-first application.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Merchant discount fees: Transaction-based fee charged to healthcare providers on each financed purchase, ranging 3-8% of transaction value per third-party business model analysis; the company states providers can save up to 50% on merchant fees vs alternatives.
2. Interest income on installment loans: Interest charged to patients on longer-term plans up to 35.99% APR for terms of 1-60 months on $200-$65,000 amounts. Per third-party analysis, roughly 85% of FY2025 revenue came from a mix of merchant discount fees and interest income, with 52.5% interest-bearing loan mix and 23.68% weighted APR cited.
3. Securitization-funded loan portfolio: Consumer loan receivables packaged into asset-backed securities; KBRA assigned preliminary ratings to Cherry Securitization Trust 2026-1, a $350 million issuance collateralized by elective medical procedure receivables with a 24-month revolving period.
4. Late fees and NSF fees from consumers: Consumer late fee of up to $15-$30 if payment not received within 10-15 days of due date; NSF fee of up to $15-$30 for returned payments; 2.99% card processing fee when consumers pay by credit card.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cherry operates a point-of-sale patient financing platform that enables healthcare providers to offer patients installment payment plans for elective procedures. Approved patients can choose a 0% APR Pay-in-4 short-term plan or longer-term monthly plans from 1 to 60 months on amounts of $200 to $65,000 at APRs up to 35.99%, with no deferred or compounding interest. The platform is delivered through the Cherry Provider Portal, the Cherry Consumer Portal, and a Cherry Point of Sale iOS app, and is natively integrated with practice management and membership platforms (e.g., Clerri) as well as co-branded inside Allergan Aesthetics' Allē app.

Product overview

Cherry operates a unified point-of-sale patient-financing platform under the core product "Cherry Payment Plans," built on a platform-plus-modules architecture rather than multiple standalone brands. At the center is the financing engine itself — backed by Lead Bank as the originating lender — delivered through the Cherry Provider Portal and Cherry Consumer Portal web applications, plus the Cherry Point of Sale iOS app for in-practice transactions. Layered on top are modular offerings: Pay-in-4 as the zero-interest short-term option; the Cherry Finder consumer/provider discovery tool; the Cherry Marketing Kit (email templates, social-media assets, template editor) for practice promotion; the Cherry Card Processing add-on for consolidated card acceptance; the Provider Referral Program; and co-branded partnership products such as Allē Payment Plans (Powered by Cherry). This single integrated platform serves 60,000+ healthcare providers across dental, medical aesthetics, plastic surgery, vision, hearing, and veterinary verticals, using AI-driven underwriting to deliver near-instant decisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Allē Payment Plans (powered by Cherry): Co-branded consumer financing product launched in partnership with Allergan Aesthetics (an AbbVie company), powered by Cherry's financing infrastructure and integrated into the Allē consumer loyalty platform.

Products and services

• Cherry Payment Plans Cherry's flagship point-of-sale patient financing platform enabling healthcare providers to offer patients installment payment plans for elective procedures. Supports financing of $200 to $65,000 over 1-60 months at 0% to 35.99% APR, with immediate ACH funding to the practice within 2-3 business days.
• Pay-in-4 Zero-interest short-term installment offering available to every approved Cherry applicant, structured as four equal payments with no deferred or compounding interest.
• Cherry Provider Portal Authenticated web portal for healthcare practices to sign up, configure pricing, generate patient application links, run soft credit checks, originate payment plans, manage transactions, issue refunds, update banking settings, and access marketing assets and training.
• Cherry Consumer Portal Authenticated patient-facing portal (also accessible at patient.withcherry.com) where consumers apply for financing, preview monthly payment options, view approvals, check out via SMS link, make payments via ACH/debit/credit/check, manage payment methods, view monthly statements and agreement letters, change due dates, request payoff quotes, and download documents.
• Cherry Point of Sale (iOS App) iOS application used by provider staff to run in-practice contract applications, scan customer IDs and debit cards, and complete financing transactions at the point of sale.
• Cherry Finder Provider discovery tool that lets prospective patients locate participating Cherry healthcare providers by location and apply directly for financing; lists 60,000+ participating providers nationwide.
• Cherry Marketing Kit (Sharing Cherry) Free marketing resource hub for providers, including pre-built email templates per vertical (Aesthetics, Dental, Plastic Surgery, Veterinary, Spanish, Vision, Audiology, Clinical Medicine, Health & Wellness, Beauty & Spa, Chiropractic & PT), a free online template editor for co-branded assets, social-media caption libraries, and brand guidelines.
• Cherry Card Processing Merchant payment-processing terminal service offered alongside Cherry's financing product, enabling providers to consolidate card acceptance with their Cherry patient financing relationship.
• Allē Payment Plans (Powered by Cherry) Co-branded patient financing experience embedded inside Allergan Aesthetics' Allē consumer app, powered by Cherry's payment plan engine. Enables Allergan Aesthetic treatment patients to apply for and use Cherry financing, including select 6-month 0% APR offers, without leaving the Allē environment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80%+ consumer approval rate
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core, core infrastructure vendor, adjacent / referenced and core channel.

• Clerriflagship / coreTechnology or Integration · 4 June 2026Clerri (dental industry's largest membership platform serving 25,000+ dentists) integrated Cherry patient financing natively into its platform. Front-office staff can initiate Cherry pre-approval directly from the patient's treatment plan view alongside membership enrollment; setup takes ~2 minutes and pre-approvals return in seconds. First of several planned Clerri innovations; live on Clerri Bridge, rolling out to all practices in coming weeks.
• Allergan Aesthetics (an AbbVie company)flagship / coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 June 2024Allē Payment Plans are powered by Cherry, enabling qualifying patients to receive 6 months of 0% APR on select Allergan Aesthetic treatments (not including Natrelle Breast Implants) at no cost to the provider. Co-marketed around Allergan events such as the BOTOX Cosmetic Day with BOGO gift cards and prize promotions.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)core infrastructure vendorTechnology or IntegrationAWS hosts all Cherry services and data (U.S.-based databases). AWS encryption at rest and TLS/SSL in transit; vulnerability scanning, backup services, monitoring and alerting relied on for business continuity and incident response.
• Galdermaadjacent / referencedStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced in third-party PatientFi comparison page as one of the aesthetics conglomerates with which PatientFi holds "exclusive pricing partnerships." Galderma is mentioned as a competitive context for aesthetics financing, not a direct Cherry alliance.
• Cherry Provider Referral Programcore channelGTM or Marketing PartnerCherry operates a dental referral program that pays providers up to $1,000 per referral and routes referred patients to flexible financing; supports long-term practice growth and patient acquisition.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CareCredit (Synchrony Financial): CareCredit is the incumbent leader in healthcare patient financing, offering dedicated credit cards and installment plans across dental, vision, veterinary, cosmetic, and other healthcare verticals. Directly comparable to Cherry as a point-of-care financing solution serving the same provider/patient dyad, but with much deeper scale, a revolving credit product, and Synchrony's balance sheet behind it.
• GreenSky (Goldman Sachs): GreenSky is a healthcare-specialized consumer lending platform (acquired by Goldman Sachs) offering point-of-sale financing for home improvement and healthcare procedures. Comparable to Cherry as a POS healthcare lender, though broader in scope (home improvement) and with incumbent balance-sheet backing.
• Affirm: Affirm is a leading public BNPL provider expanding into healthcare, dental, and elective procedure financing with pay-in-4 and longer-term installment products. Comparable to Cherry as a soft-credit, near-instant-approval POS lender, though much larger, more diversified across retail, and with a public balance sheet.
• Klarna: Klarna is a global BNPL provider pushing into healthcare and in-person service financing. Comparable to Cherry as a soft-credit, instant-decision POS lender with pay-in-4 and longer-term installment offerings, though Klarna is far broader in retail and is publicly pursuing healthcare as an expansion vertical.

Direct peers

• Sunbit: Sunbit is a tech-forward BNPL lender focused on healthcare, automotive, and home services with near-instant approvals and soft-credit underwriting. Directly comparable to Cherry as a point-of-sale patient financing platform targeting dental, optical, and veterinary providers with similar merchant fee and interest income economics.
• PatientFi: PatientFi is a patient financing platform purpose-built for elective medical procedures, with deep aesthetics and plastic surgery concentration and exclusive partnerships with aesthetics conglomerates. Closely comparable to Cherry's medical aesthetics vertical, with overlapping value props (low APR plans, provider upfront funding) and competing aesthetics-pharma partnerships (e.g., Galderma).
• Wisetack: Wisetack provides consumer financing for in-person services at the point of sale, with soft-credit underwriting and a software-driven integration model. Directly comparable to Cherry's provider-portal and integration-driven POS financing approach, with overlapping verticals including healthcare and home services.
• LendingUSA: LendingUSA offers patient financing for elective medical, dental, cosmetic, and veterinary procedures through a lender network. Directly comparable to Cherry as a multi-vertical elective healthcare financing provider serving the same SMB practice and consumer segments.
• Alphaeon Credit (Strathspey Crown): Alphaeon Credit provides patient financing cards for elective healthcare procedures, with strong concentration in ophthalmology, dental, and aesthetics. Directly comparable to Cherry's elective healthcare focus and similar provider-distribution model.
• FuturePay: FuturePay is a healthcare-specialized patient financing provider offering installment plans for dental, veterinary, and other elective procedures. Directly comparable to Cherry in its SMB-provider distribution model, multi-vertical elective healthcare focus, and consumer-installment economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/withCherryUS
• Instagraminstagram.com/withcherryus
• Xx.com/withcherryus

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cherry