Cherry is a patient financing platform that lets you split the cost of medical, dental, and aesthetic procedures into monthly payments. The application takes just a few minutes, uses only a soft credit check (so it won’t affect your credit score), and can be done right from your phone or at a provider’s office. Here’s how the process works and what to expect.
What Cherry Financing Covers
Cherry partners with healthcare and aesthetic providers to offer payment plans for services that insurance may not fully cover. That includes cosmetic procedures, dental work, dermatology, vision correction, veterinary care, and elective medical treatments. You won’t find Cherry at a regular retail store or car dealership. It’s designed specifically for healthcare-related expenses, and the provider you’re visiting needs to be enrolled in Cherry’s network for you to use it.
How to Find a Provider That Accepts Cherry
Before you apply, confirm that your provider accepts Cherry. You can do this two ways: ask the practice directly, or use Cherry’s online provider finder at withcherry.com. The search tool lets you look up practices near you that are already in the network. If your preferred provider isn’t listed, Cherry lets you suggest them and says its team will reach out to the practice on your behalf.
The Application Process
Applying for Cherry is straightforward. You can start the process on your own through Cherry’s website or mobile experience, or the provider’s office may walk you through it on-site. You’ll need to provide basic personal information, including your name, date of birth, address, phone number, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Cherry uses this to run a soft credit check, which verifies your identity and determines how much you’re approved for.
A soft credit check is different from the hard inquiries that lenders like mortgage companies or auto lenders use. It does not appear on your credit report and will not lower your credit score, so there’s no risk in checking your approval amount. Cherry emphasizes that it never performs a hard credit pull, not even after you accept a plan.
Once the check is complete, you’ll see your approved amount along with the payment plan options available to you. The whole process typically takes just a few minutes. If you’re approved, you can use the financing immediately at the provider’s office to pay for your treatment.
Approval Amounts and What Affects Them
Cherry doesn’t publish a specific minimum credit score for approval. The soft credit check evaluates your overall creditworthiness to determine both whether you qualify and how much you’re approved for. Your approval amount may not cover the full cost of a procedure, in which case you’d pay the remaining balance out of pocket or with another payment method. Approval amounts vary by applicant, so checking before your appointment gives you a clear picture of your budget.
Payment Plans and Interest Rates
Cherry offers repayment terms ranging from 1 to 60 months, with APRs between 0% and 35.99% depending on the plan length and your creditworthiness. Everyone who is approved gets access to at least one zero-interest option through Cherry’s Pay-in-4 plan, which splits your balance into four equal payments. Beyond that, qualifying applicants may receive 0% APR on longer-term monthly plans, while interest-bearing plans start as low as 5.99% APR.
There is no deferred interest and no compounding interest on any Cherry plan. Deferred interest is a structure where interest accrues silently during a promotional period and gets charged retroactively if you don’t pay the full balance in time. Cherry doesn’t use this model, which means the rate you see at the start is the rate you pay. If you qualify for a 0% plan, you genuinely pay zero interest as long as you make your scheduled payments.
The specific plans and rates available to you depend on the provider, the treatment cost, and your credit profile. When you apply, Cherry will show you all your eligible options so you can compare monthly payment amounts and total costs before committing.
What You Need to Apply
- Valid identification info: Your full legal name, date of birth, and the last four digits of your SSN for identity verification.
- Contact details: A phone number and email address for your account.
- A participating provider: You can only use Cherry at practices enrolled in the network, so confirm this before applying.
- A bank account or debit card: You’ll need a payment method on file for your scheduled installments.
Using Your Approved Amount
Once approved, your available credit can be used at the provider where you applied. Some applicants are approved for a line they can use across multiple visits or even at different Cherry providers, though this depends on your approval terms. At checkout, the provider processes the Cherry payment, and you begin making installments on your chosen schedule. Payments are typically automatic, so you’ll want to make sure the payment method you link stays current to avoid missed payments.
If you need financing for a future procedure, you can apply ahead of time to see your approval amount without any obligation. Since the credit check is soft, there’s no downside to checking early so you can plan your treatment and budget accordingly.