Most customers don't say no to the service. Sometimes, they say no to the price. The payment solution you choose can make a difference between a customer postponing a purchase and finding a way to move forward.
Denefits vs. Cherry both help businesses make higher-cost purchases more manageable by offering flexible payment and financing solutions. However, they approach the checkout experience differently.
Cherry focuses on customer financing, helping businesses offer installment-based payment options with quick approval decisions and upfront payouts. Denefits goes beyond financing, bringing payment processing, flexible payment plans, upfront financing, subscriptions, and tools to manage customer payments together in one platform.
So, which solution makes more sense for your business? It depends on whether you primarily need financing or a platform that gives customers more ways to pay while helping you manage payments and grow your business.
Let's compare how both platforms work, what they offer businesses, and where their differences matter most.
Cherry: A Financing Solution That Simplifies Customer Payments
Cherry is a customer financing platform primarily serving healthcare and wellness providers, including dental practices, medical aesthetics clinics, and other elective care businesses. It also supports other eligible service-based businesses. Cherry helps businesses let customers split larger purchases into smaller payments without having to manage installment collections themselves. Its model centres on third-party customer financing, with Cherry managing the application, approval, funding, and repayment process.
Here's how it works for a business:
1. Customer application and approval: Customers apply through a business-specific Cherry application link, either online or during checkout. Applying takes about 35 seconds, relying on a soft credit inquiry that will not impact the applicant's credit score. Customers receive an approval decision almost immediately, although approval isn't guaranteed.
2. Financing options and repayment terms: Once approved, customers can choose from available payment options, including Pay-in-4 and longer-term monthly installments. Cherry offers financing amounts from $35 to $65,000, with repayment terms from 1 to 60 months and APRs from 0% to 35.99%, depending on eligibility and the selected plan. See Cherry's financing details for more information.
3. Upfront payment to the business: Once the customer completes the transaction, Cherry deposits the purchase amount, minus its merchant fee, into the business's bank account within 2–3 business days. The business doesn't have to wait for the customer to complete their installments. Read more about how businesses get paid.
4. Repayment management: Cherry manages the repayment process directly with the customer, including billing and installment collections. It also assumes the credit risk associated with its contracts, so businesses don't have to chase customers for missed installments. Learn more about Cherry's repayment process.
5. Merchant fees and business responsibilities: Cherry doesn't charge setup or monthly subscription fees. Instead, businesses pay a fee on each financed transaction. Cherry's merchant fees may vary depending on the financing plan, transaction volume, and business agreement. Businesses should confirm their applicable rates directly with Cherry. Businesses remain responsible for delivering the agreed services and handling customer-related service or refund issues. See Cherry's merchant fee information for details.
For businesses primarily looking to offer customer financing without taking on the responsibility of collecting installments, Cherry offers a straightforward model. It provides upfront payment, handles customer repayments, and takes on the associated credit risk. However, its core offering remains centred on financing transactions rather than providing a wider range of payment and customer management tools.
Denefits: Offering Every Way to Get Paid
Denefits is a software and infrastructure platform that helps businesses get paid the way their customers prefer. It brings together payment plans, pay-in-full processing, upfront financing, subscriptions, and customizable checkout experiences, giving businesses multiple ways to manage customer payments through one platform.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
➮ Payment Processing: Businesses can accept payments in person or online using 50+ payment methods, including cards and digital wallets. The Denefits Terminal supports in-person transactions, while payment links, email, SMS, and QR codes provide additional ways to collect payments remotely.
➮ Flexible Payment Plans: Businesses can offer different arrangements depending on their needs and their customers' preferences. In-House Payment Plans let businesses set their own terms, while No Fee Financing provides up to 90% principal protection on eligible plans. EZ Payment Plans offer deferred-interest options, including a promotional period of up to 12 months, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
➮ Upfront Financing: Eligible businesses can receive payment upfront on qualifying contracts. When a customer qualifies for only part of the purchase amount, the remaining balance can be covered through a payment plan, helping businesses accommodate the customer without automatically losing the sale.
➮ Subscriptions and Recurring Billing: Businesses can establish memberships and recurring service plans, automate subsequent billing and renewals, and manage account updates without manually processing every payment.
➮ Customer Engagement and Retention: Denefits extends beyond payment collection with tools for gathering reviews, offering rewards, and encouraging referrals. These features help businesses strengthen their reputation, encourage repeat visits, and build customer relationships beyond the initial transaction.
Together, these capabilities make Denefits more than a way to accept payments. It gives businesses a connected set of tools to manage how customers pay, maintain ongoing billing relationships, and create more growth opportunities.
Managing Payments Beyond the Initial Transaction
Choosing a payment solution isn't just about helping customers complete a purchase. It's also about what happens afterward: managing installments, keeping payments on track, handling recurring billing, and reducing the administrative work involved.
Cherry and Denefits both help businesses manage customer repayments, but they approach the process differently.
With Cherry, repayment management is handled directly by Cherry. Once a transaction is approved and completed, Cherry manages customer billing and installment collections. Businesses receive their payment upfront, without having to follow up with customers for individual installments.
Denefits provides payment management tools that help businesses track customer payments, automate reminders and follow-ups, and manage recurring billing through its platform. Businesses can set up subscriptions, offer in-house payment plans with their own terms, and manage different payment arrangements without manually tracking every installment.
Beyond repayment management, Denefits supports customizable checkout experiences and multiple payment channels, helping businesses incorporate payment collection into their existing workflows.
What this means for businesses: Both platforms reduce the administrative work associated with collecting customer payments. Cherry focuses on managing repayments for its financing transactions, while Denefits supports repayment management across a wider range of payment arrangements, including in-house plans and recurring subscriptions.
The Denefits Terminal: Bringing Payments and Customer Engagement Together at the Front Desk
For businesses that interact with customers in person, the checkout experience is an important part of the overall service experience. Denefits extends its platform to the front desk through the Denefits Terminal, a handheld device that brings payment options and customer engagement tools together.
Rather than functioning as just a card-processing device, the Denefits Terminal allows businesses to offer multiple payment arrangements while creating opportunities to engage customers even after a transaction is complete.
Here's what businesses can do with it:
1. Multiple Payment Options: Accept payments through 50+ methods, including cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and other supported payment methods. Customers can also explore available Denefits payment plans and Upfront Financing options at checkout.
2. Through the Terminal: pay-in-full transactions deliver instant payouts, giving businesses faster access to their funds.
3. Reviews at Checkout: Invite customers to share their experience immediately after payment, while the interaction is still fresh.
4. Rewards: Automatically introduce customers to the business's rewards program after a successful payment. Businesses can encourage actions such as leaving reviews or following their social media accounts.
5. Satisfied customers: can share referral links with a tap or scan to boost referrals, aiding word-of-mouth opportunities for businesses.
6. Subscriptions: Enroll customers in recurring memberships and service plans directly through the checkout experience.
7. Multi-Location Management: Manage business locations and staff access through one centralized dashboard with role-based permissions.
For businesses, this means the checkout experience can do more than process a transaction. The Denefits Terminal connects payment collection with opportunities to gather feedback, encourage referrals, and build customer relationships.
Denefits vs. Cherry: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Note: Features, eligibility, fees, and payout conditions may vary by product and agreement. The table reflects the platforms' respective offerings and should be checked against their latest published terms.
Choosing Between Denefits and Cherry
The right payment solution depends on what your business needs most. Both platforms can help customers manage larger purchases, but their capabilities serve different business requirements.
Cherry may be suitable for businesses that:
- Primarily want to offer customers third-party financing.
- Prefer a financing provider to manage customer applications and repayment collections.
- Want upfront payment on approved transactions without managing installment collections themselves.
- Are comfortable working within the financing options and terms offered by the provider.
Denefits may be a better fit for businesses that:
- Want more than a standalone customer financing solution.
- Need pay-in-full processing alongside multiple payment plan options.
- Want to offer in-house payment plans with business-defined terms.
- Need Upfront Financing with gap coverage on eligible contracts.
- Want to manage subscriptions and recurring payments.
- Need in-person and remote checkout capabilities.
- Want payment solutions and customer engagement tools within one platform.
Ultimately, if your primary requirement is third-party customer financing, Cherry offers a focused solution. If you want a platform that brings together different ways to collect payments, manage billing, and support customer engagement, Denefits offers broader capabilities.
More Ways to Pay. More Room to Grow.
Choosing a payment solution is about more than deciding how customers will pay. It's about finding a solution that supports your business as its payment needs, customer expectations, and operations evolve.
Cherry offers a focused approach to customer financing, helping businesses provide installment options while taking repayment management off their hands.
Denefits takes a broader approach by combining pay-in-full processing, flexible payment plans, Upfront Financing, subscription management, customizable checkout experiences, and the Denefits Terminal within one platform. This allows businesses to support different payment preferences while simplifying payment operations.
Whether a customer prefers to pay in full, spread the cost over time, or sign up for recurring services, Denefits helps businesses accommodate different payment needs through one platform.
Because getting paid shouldn't be limited to one way. And neither should the opportunities to grow your business.
Turn Every Checkout Into an Opportunity to Grow
Do more than accept payments. With the Denefits Terminal, offer 50+ payment methods, flexible payment plans, instant payouts on eligible pay-in-full transactions, and built-in tools for reviews, rewards, and referrals.
