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Kgashane Sebopetsa | Vision Works: Optometrist and Practice Manager
“Since the introduction of Altron FinTech solutions we have seen a great improvement in our debtors book and collections.”
Customer Success Stories
FinTech | Vision Works and Hearing Works
About Vision Works and Hearing Works
At the Mall of Africa and across 40+ locations in South Africa, Vision Works and Hearing Works have created an innovative store-in-store model where Hearing Works operates inside Vision Works branches. This creates a one-stop destination for essential eye and hearing care, serving diverse communities across all income levels. However, their biggest challenge was serving customers who desperately needed glasses, hearing aids, and other essential devices but couldn't afford upfront payments. Traditional retail models meant turning away those who needed care most, ultimately impacting their mission to make healthcare accessible to all South Africans.
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"The traditional model meant receptionists had to ask "what can you afford" rather than "what can I do for you" — limiting their ability to provide essential care."
The business challenge
Serving customers across different income levels whilst maintaining accessible healthcare
Vision Works and Hearing Works serve "a mixture of both lower and higher LSMs" across South Africa. When patients received quotations for essential items like hearing aids, they often found "it's not really something that's within their affordability at that time." As Dr. Bopane Mothemela explains: "The main thing is access, right? If I have the help you need and I can’t help you, then its painful for me to know that I can only serve those who can afford it."
The solution
DebiCheck and scalable retail solutions enabling flexible payment plans
Altron FinTech provided Vision Works and Hearing Works with DebiCheck technology that transformed how they serve their communities. Instead of requiring upfront payments for expensive items like R25,000 hearing aids, customers could spread costs over manageable monthly instalments.
The solution was implemented across 40+ locations, ensuring every customer could access essential healthcare regardless of their financial circumstances.
The impact
Transforming lives through accessible healthcare technology
Dr. Mothemela shares a touching example: "There was a child that came through, the mom was working, but she couldn't afford hearing aids overall... So we had to arrange payment through debit orders with Altron to ensure that the child gets the hearing aids. And as we speak, the child has got hearing aids and the mom is paying monthly affordable instalments."
Since implementing Altron FinTech's solutions, they've seen a great improvement in so far as collections is concerned whilst achieving their mission to enable South Africans access to quality hearing aids and spectacles.
"It's a big milestone in trying to achieve access to human healthcare."
Dr. Bopane Mothemela | Audiologist & Head of Business Development, Hearing Works