How HearingLife Canada Scaled Patient Financing 20× While Expanding Access to Care

As Canada’s largest network of hearing care clinics, HearingLife helps thousands of patients access critical hearing healthcare through more than 360 locations across the country.

For many patients, financing determines whether they can move forward with treatment. But as HearingLife expanded, its reliance on a legacy third-party provider introduced inconsistency and friction into the patient experience, often when it mattered most: when patients were deciding whether to proceed with care.

By partnering with TurnKey Lender, HearingLife transformed financing into a centralized, scalable infrastructure: application times dropped from over 45 minutes to just 5 to 10 minutes, patient interest rates fell 10 to 15%, and financing volume grew 20× in key markets.

• Industry: Healthcare / Hearing Care
• Model: Internal Patient Financing
• Region: Canada

HearingLife originally introduced patient financing to make hearing care more accessible. Instead, its legacy third-party provider began creating the opposite effect.

Clinic teams lacked confidence in the process. Approval outcomes varied widely. And the financing experience differed from one location to the next, which undermined the consistency HearingLife worked hard to deliver elsewhere.

The operational fallout was significant:
• No control over the in-clinic financing experience
• Inconsistent approval outcomes and financing terms
• Administrative complexity across clinic teams
• Declining patient adoption and staff confidence
• Friction slowing the path to treatment

This approach to financing was not enabling care. It became a barrier to it.

Knowing that financing could no longer remain an outsourced administrative function, HearingLife made a strategic decision to bring financing operations in-house, with hopes of creating a more predictable and modular patient experience.

The objectives were clear: deliver a consistent, predictable experience at every clinic, offer adjustable financing programs tailored to patient needs, and build infrastructure capable of scaling across 360+ locations without adding operational complexity.

Building the Infrastructure for Scalable Financing

HearingLife partnered with TurnKey Lender to implement a fully automated, end-to-end patient financing platform designed to support operational scale, flexibility, and growth.

End-to-End Lending Automation
• Digital in-clinic applications
• Automated decisioning and workflows
• Integrated loan management and servicing

Configurable Financing Programs
• Flexible payment plans aligned to patient needs
• Custom programs across markets and segments
• Continuous optimization of financing offerings

Centralized Control Across Clinics
• Single platform across 360+ locations
• Standardized experience for staff and patients
• Simplified administration and support

Financing became a controlled, embedded part of the care journey, simplifying the experience for patients and clinic staff.

20× growth in patient financing volume across key markets

100% clinic adoption nationwide

5–10 minutes application time, down from over 45 minutes

10–15%reduction in patient interest rates

360+ clinics operating on a unified financing platform

Operational Transformation: Consistency at Scale

With TurnKey Lender, HearingLife gained full control over how financing was delivered across the organization.

And the results were immediate.

Standardized workflows replaced fragmented processes. Administrative burden fell. Staff confidence in presenting financing options improved. And by reducing application times from over 45 minutes to just 5–10 minutes, HearingLife meaningfully improved both clinic efficiency and the patient experience at a critical decision point.

Business Impact: Financing Became a Growth Driver

The operational improvements quickly translated into measurable business outcomes, such as:
• Higher financing adoption across multiple markets
• Improved patient conversion at the point of care
• Increased demand for higher-value hearing solutions
• Operational scalability without proportional administrative growth

With full control over financing programs, HearingLife also gained the flexibility to continuously optimize offerings, tailoring terms across markets and patient segments as the organization grew.

Patient Impact: Expanding Access to Care

Ultimately, every operational and business gain traced back to the single most important outcome: more patients moving forward with the care they need.

Lower interest rates, faster applications, and more flexible payment options reduced both the financial and logistical barriers to treatment.

“This has, without a doubt, expanded access to care.”

Why HearingLife Chose TurnKey Lender

HearingLife needed more than a financing platform. They needed infrastructure capable of supporting a consistent patient experience across hundreds of clinics while remaining agile enough to evolve as the organization grew.

HearingLife built a financing infrastructure capable of supporting hundreds of clinics, configurable by market, and designed to grow with the organization. TurnKey Lender provided the platform to make it possible.

The Takeaway: Financing as a Strategic Growth Lever

HearingLife’s transformation reflects a broader shift happening across healthcare and embedded finance. Once treated as a back-office payment function, financing is now directly tied to patient acquisition, accessibility, and long-term growth.

For organizations willing to take control of the financing experience, the opportunity is significant: better outcomes for patients, stronger conversion at the point of care, and a infrastructure that grows with the business.

“Before TurnKey, we couldn’t really control the clinic experience or the client experience. Outcomes were unpredictable. Since implementing TurnKey Lender, we’ve been able to control and influence the client experience, and we’ve seen widespread adoption across our clinics.”

Nick Minicucci

Vice President, Finance, Demant / HearingLife