Treatment booked through GetClinic is normally paid in two parts, and both parts are payments to the clinic. A deposit secures the booking. The treatment balance is the rest of the clinic's price. The clinic sets the treatment price. GetClinic does not.
The two payments, and who receives them
A clinic may require a booking deposit to hold your place. The clinic independently determines or approves that amount. It is not calculated from anything GetClinic charges the clinic for its software (Booking Terms §12, §13).
The treatment balance is what remains of the clinic's price after the deposit has been applied. It is payable to the clinic under the payment instructions in your clinic offer (Booking Terms §43).
A consultation charge, where a clinic makes one, is a third and separate thing. It is disclosed on its own and is not part of your deposit (Booking Terms §19). If a clinic later decides it cannot treat you, the unused deposit is refunded in full, while a consultation charge for a consultation actually given is handled independently (Booking Terms §28, §29).
Your deposit comes off the price, not on top of it
If the clinic accepts the booking and treatment goes ahead, 100% of the deposit is credited against the clinic's treatment price and reduces what you still owe. The Booking Terms give this worked example:
The deposit is not an extra charge on top, unless a separate clinic charge was clearly disclosed as one before you paid (Booking Terms §15).
What checkout has to show you before you pay
Before any clinic-related payment, GetClinic has to identify four separate roles (Booking Terms §21):
- Payment beneficiary or payee. Who economically receives the payment.
- Payment processor. The regulated payment service provider handling the transaction.
- Collection route. How the payment is being collected.
- Payment effect. How much of what you owe the clinic is satisfied by paying.
These can be four different entities, which is why they are named separately. Checkout also has to show the clinic, the treatment, the price or estimate, booking status, medical approval status, currency, and the cancellation, refund and no-show terms (Booking Terms §48). The payment button itself must name the amount and say what it is for, such as "Pay Clinic Booking Deposit - EUR 640" (Booking Terms §49).
Once a payment succeeds through the route shown at checkout, that part of your obligation to the clinic is satisfied (Booking Terms §22).
Deposits and balances travel by different routes
A deposit may be collected only through an approved collection route, meaning one where GetClinic or the payment provider can initiate or facilitate a refund if one becomes due. Direct off-platform payment to the clinic is not a permitted route for a deposit. If a clinic asks you to pay a deposit outside the route shown at checkout, contact GetClinic before paying (Booking Terms §20; Terms of Service §28).
The treatment balance is different. It may lawfully be paid direct to the clinic where that route is disclosed and permitted (Booking Terms §44). Before sending money direct, check the clinic's legal identity, the bank-account holder and the payment details. See paying safely.
What happens to a deposit if you cancel is set out in cancellation and refunds.
What GetClinic does not do with your money
GetClinic does not operate a wallet, a stored balance, an escrow arrangement or a remittance service, and does not hold your money for you (Terms of Service §29, §31; Booking Terms §23). A deposit or clinic charge does not become GetClinic revenue because GetClinic technology processed the payment (Booking Terms §13).
Under the current terms GetClinic does not separately charge patients for access to the marketplace (Terms of Service §30). If a genuinely separate GetClinic consumer service is ever offered for a fee, it has to be identified and accepted separately before you are bound or pay for it.
GetClinic is a technology marketplace. The clinic you choose provides your healthcare and is responsible for it. This is general information about how GetClinic works, not medical advice. Only the clinic's qualified healthcare professionals can decide what treatment is right for you.