Aesthetic practices face a financing decision that most other healthcare specialties don't: patients aren't just paying for a single procedure. They're investing in an ongoing relationship with their appearance — coming back for toxin touch-ups, filler maintenance, laser series, and skincare. The tools a practice offers to make that financially accessible shape not just whether a patient says yes today, but whether they return next quarter.

Privi and Cherry Payment Plans both give aesthetic practices a way to remove cost as a barrier. But they were designed around different problems, and understanding that distinction is what makes the difference between choosing the right tool and choosing the wrong one.

What Is Privi?

Privi is a subscription-based aesthetic membership platform launched in 2023 by PatientFi — a point-of-sale financing company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Irvine, California. Privi is a subsidiary of PatientFi, LLC, and operates exclusively within the aesthetics space. PatientFi itself offers a broader suite of payment solutions for elective healthcare, spanning aesthetics, fertility, cosmetic dental, and audiology.

The core idea is straightforward: rather than asking patients to pay for each cosmetic treatment individually, Privi lets them pay a monthly membership cost that covers a fully customized annual beauty plan. Practices build each patient's treatment plan through the Privi provider portal, and patients pay monthly while the practice gets funded upfront when treatments are rendered.

Privi integrates with ASPIRE Galderma Rewards, allowing members to earn loyalty points on qualifying beauty treatments while staying on track with their plan.

How Does Privi Financing Work?

For Patients

Privi membership is activated through an enrolled aesthetic provider — patients cannot sign up independently. Once a provider builds a personalized treatment plan in the Privi portal, the patient begins paying a recurring monthly membership payment covering injectables, filler, laser treatments, skincare, body treatments, and other aesthetic treatments, all customized to their aesthetic goals.

According to Privi's FAQ, there are no hidden fees. Members can cancel at any time, though they will owe the cost of any treatments already rendered, and refunds are processed to the payment method on file. Patients manage their membership through the Privi member portal at joinprivi.com and receive automatic text and email reminders for scheduled appointments.

PatientFi — the company behind Privi — confirms on its own site that it is not a bank or lender, and uses a soft credit check only with no impact to the patient's credit score. The following key terms are sourced from patientfi.com, as Privi's own site does not publish specific financing terms. Patients benefit from:

• Procedure financing up to $60,000 for aesthetic procedures
• Soft credit check only — no impact to credit score
• No fees to apply
• Zero-interest promotional plans for 3, 6, and 12 months — note these are deferred interest plans; if the balance is not paid in full during the promotional period, interest is charged retroactively from the purchase date
• Longer-term plans available up to 60 months
• APRs start as low as 6.99% for non-promotional plans

For Providers

Practices build each patient's custom treatment plan directly in the Privi provider portal, with the ability to add incentives or special pricing to encourage sign-ups. Once a patient is enrolled and a treatment is rendered, the practice receives upfront payment — PatientFi's aesthetics page states practices are paid the day treatment is rendered. There is no financial risk to the practice if a patient misses a monthly payment. Merchant fees are not publicly disclosed — practices interested in Privi's pricing can contact the team directly.

Privi sends automatic scheduling reminders to keep members on track throughout their annual plan, and enrolled practices receive complimentary custom marketing materials.

PatientFi also offers reusable approvals — patients can return for additional treatments without reapplying, which is a meaningful retention feature for aesthetic practices.

What Is Cherry Payment Plans?

Cherry is a BNPL healthcare financing platform with a single focus: making it possible for patients to say yes to the care they want. More than 60,000 providers across the country have made Cherry their financing partner — spanning medical aesthetics providers, plastic surgery facilities, dental and orthodontic practices, dermatology clinics, veterinary hospitals, vision centers, and hearing care providers. At practices where Cherry is offered among its competitors, Cherry is the one staff offer first more than 80% of the time.

Where Privi is built specifically around aesthetic memberships, Cherry covers the full range of healthcare financing — from a single aesthetic treatment to major surgical cases — across a variety of specialties.

How Does Cherry Payment Plans Work?

For Patients

Most patients make a financing decision before they've left the provider’s office. Cherry's approval process takes 35 seconds, delivers an instant decision, and never hurts a patient's credit score. Cherry uses a soft credit check whether a patient is approved for $500 or $50,000. There are no hard inquiries, no waiting periods, and no separate application to complete outside the practice. Patients benefit from:

• Loan amounts up to $65,000
• Repayment terms from 1 to 60 months
• True 0% APR for qualified borrowers — no deferred interest, ever
• No origination fees, no hidden fees, no prepayment penalties
• Approval rates up to 90% across all credit profiles
• Payments accepted via credit card, debit card, or ACH

For Providers

Cherry operates as a seamless part of the practice's financial workflow. Staff initiate financing at the point of care, Cherry handles all underwriting and repayment servicing, and the practice receives payment directly within 2-3 business days of approval. There is no collection risk and no patient follow-up required. Providers benefit from:

• Merchant fees starting at 1.7% — the lowest in the industry
• Upfront payment within 2-3 business days
• Ready-to-use marketing materials included with enrollment
• Exclusive approvals — patients must use financing at the practice where they applied
• Dedicated support team with healthcare-specific expertise, available by phone, email, and chat

Cherry vs Privi: A Quick Comparison

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Note: Where Privi's own site does not publish specific terms — including loan amounts, APRs, approval rates, and merchant fees — the figures above are sourced from PatientFi, the parent company behind Privi. All PatientFi figures are drawn from their official website and are accurate as of the date of publication.

The Biggest Differences Between Cherry and Privi

1. A Membership Platform vs. a Financing Partner

This is the foundational distinction. Privi was built to solve a specific problem in aesthetics: how does a practice turn a patient who comes in twice a year for Botox into someone who visits four or more times a year, stays loyal, and consistently spends more? The annual membership model answers that question well — patients commit to a custom beauty plan, pay monthly, and practices benefit from predictable recurring revenue and built-in retention tools.

Cherry was designed to solve a different problem: how does a practice give a variety of patients across credit profiles a clear and immediate path to saying yes to treatment today? That broader focus means Cherry operates across a wide range of healthcare specialties — not just aesthetics — and is optimized for maximizing case acceptance at the point of care rather than building recurring membership relationships.

For aesthetic practices, the two platforms can complement each other. But for practices that need a single financing partner covering everything from a $500 injectable appointment to a $50,000 surgical case, Cherry's flexibility makes it the more comprehensive solution.

2. True 0% APR vs. Promotional Deferred Interest

This distinction is worth understanding carefully. PatientFi offers zero-interest promotional plans to 100% of approved patients — but as confirmed on their own official terms, these are deferred interest plans. The fine print reads: "Zero Interest when paid in full during promotional period. Terms apply." If a balance isn't paid in full by the end of the promotional period, interest can be applied retroactively from the purchase date to the loan principal.

Cherry's true 0% APR works differently. There is no promotional deadline and no deferred interest — what a patient agrees to repay is the exact amount they owe, with no retroactive charges or surprises regardless of when they pay it off. For patients who qualify, this is a meaningfully more patient-friendly structure.

3. Approval Rates and Specialty Reach

PatientFi discloses an 80% approval rate on its official website. Cherry publicly discloses an approval rate of up to 90% across all credit profiles, including patients with limited credit history or lower credit scores. For practices where maximizing the percentage of patients who move forward with treatment is a primary goal, that 10-point difference is meaningful.

Cherry's specialty reach is also broader. Privi is exclusively aesthetic. PatientFi's standard financing extends to fertility, cosmetic dental, and audiology — but the platform's identity remains heavily aesthetics-focused. Cherry serves dental, plastic surgery, dermatology, veterinary, vision, hearing, and medical aesthetics through the same platform, with the same approval rates and support team.

4. Merchant Fee Transparency

Cherry's merchant fees start at 1.7% — we make that publicly available — practices know exactly what they're paying before they enroll. PatientFi does not disclose its merchant fees publicly. Practices interested in PatientFi's rates need to call their customer support phone number to find out. For practices making a financial decision about which platform to prioritize, the ability to compare costs upfront is a meaningful difference in itself.

5. Provider Payment Timing

Both platforms pay practices upfront. PatientFi's aesthetics page states practices are funded the same day treatment is rendered. Cherry typically pays within 2-3 business days of the patient's approval.

6. Reusable Approvals vs. Per-Transaction Financing

PatientFi offers a reusable digital wallet — once a patient is approved, they can return for additional treatments without reapplying. Cherry approvals are per transaction, meaning patients apply each time they finance a treatment. For aesthetic practices focused on repeat visits and ongoing treatment relationships, PatientFi's reusable approval model has practical appeal.

7. Patients May Be Required to Join a Credit Union

Because PatientFi connects patients with participating banks and credit unions rather than lending directly, some patients may find themselves enrolled in a credit union as part of the application process. PatientFi's own FAQ acknowledges this, noting that while patients are not required to be existing members of a participating institution, "our application process will assist you with creating an account with a credit union if necessary."

For some patients, this is a minor administrative step. For others — particularly those who weren't expecting it — it can add friction to what should be a seamless point-of-care experience. Cherry makes no such requirement. Every patient who applies gets an instant decision through Cherry's own platform, with no third-party account creation required at any stage of the process.

The Bottom Line

Privi is a purpose-built tool for a specific kind of practice. For aesthetic providers with an established patient base and a clear strategy around recurring treatment plans, the annual membership model has real merit — patients commit to their aesthetic goals, practices benefit from predictable revenue, and the retention tools do meaningful work.

But for practices that want a financing partner with publicly disclosed fees, a higher and transparent approval rate, true 0% APR with no deferred interest, and the flexibility to serve patients across every treatment type and price point, Cherry is the stronger all-around choice. Loan amounts up to $65,000, approval rates up to 90%, merchant fees starting at 1.7%, and a 35-second application that works for the full spectrum of patients who walk through the door — Cherry was built to grow practices, not just serve one corner of the aesthetic market.

Find out why practices offer Cherry first over the competition more than 80% of the time. Claim your personalized demo today.