Pre-service deposit and copay collection

How do we show a patient the expected copay or deposit before the visit and collect it on a secure screen, with the payment posted to the account?

Turn the estimate into a payment the patient can make from a text. Callvu prefills the patient, the visit and the expected amount (the copay from the benefits, the deposit from the estimate or the policy's deposit rule, any prior balance the policy allows to be requested), sends the patient a link before the visit or presents it at check-in, shows the amount with what it covers and the receipt terms, captures the payment on a secure screen that keeps card data out of the front desk and the call center, offers a plan where the amount is large, and writes the payment to the account in the billing system with the receipt and the check-in flag.

In scopeSimpleCallvu moves: prefill, write back

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Last updated November 7, 2026.

The problem today

The front desk asked for the copay from the card's printed figure, took a credit card on a terminal that was not theirs, and the deposit for the procedure was never requested at all.

Today, without Callvu

Collecting before the service is the cheapest collection there is, and most hospitals do it badly: the copay is guessed from the card, the deposit for a scheduled procedure is a phone call that may not happen, and the payment is taken on a terminal or over the phone with the card number in the front desk's hands. Every dollar not collected before the visit costs several times more to collect after.

The amount is computable from the benefits and the estimate; the request is a text with a link; the capture must satisfy PCI DSS by keeping the card data on a secure screen outside the hospital's environment; the posting must land on the right account and encounter in the billing system so the claim and the statement reflect it. A receipt and a record of what the payment covers prevent the later dispute.

A deposit paid from the patient's phone the night before is a visit that starts on time.

How it runs

From the requestto the system of record.

A visit or a procedure is scheduled, or a patient arrives at check-in. Callvu prefills the expected amount and opens the collection.

Patient or guarantor: Sees the amount and pays on a secure screen from a text, the portal or at check-in.
Patient access: Sees the payment status at check-in; never handles card data.
Callvu: Prefills the amount, requests, captures, offers a plan and writes.

Prefill the amount
The patient, the visit or the procedure, the copay from the benefits check, the deposit from the cost estimate or the policy's deposit rule for the service, and any prior balance the policy allows to be requested are prefilled from scheduling and the billing system; the amount is shown with what it covers (the copay for this visit, a deposit against the estimated share, a prior balance) and the refund terms if the service does not happen.
Request before the visit
The patient receives a text or portal message with a link to the amount before the visit, on the hospital's lead time, and can pay the full amount or a part, or choose a plan where the amount qualifies; a patient who does not pay sees the same screen at check-in on the kiosk or from a code.
Capture on a secure screen
The card or bank payment is entered by the patient on a secure, process-controlled screen that keeps the card data out of the front desk, the call center and the recordings, tokenized at capture; a saved method on the account may be used with the patient's confirmation.
Write back
The payment is posted to the account and the encounter in the billing system with the receipt and what it covers, the check-in record shows the payment, the claim and the statement reflect it, and a payment against an estimate is reconciled at the final bill with any overpayment routed to the refund process.

Where it ends: The expected amount was computed, requested before the visit and paid from the patient's phone or at check-in on a secure screen, and the billing system holds the payment on the right encounter with the receipt. The Decision Trace shows the amount's basis and the policy applied; the Audit Trace shows the request, the capture and the posting with time.

Runtime enforcement

What is enforcedwhile the work runs.

The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.

Regulations

PCI DSS: Card data captured on a secure, process-controlled screen the patient controls removes the front desk terminals, the call center desktops and the call recordings from the cardholder data environment (the scope reduction for redirected or hosted capture), the card number is tokenized and never stored in the billing system, and the hospital's annual assessment covers a far smaller scope.
IRS 501(r) billing and collections rules (26 CFR 1.501(r)-6) and the EMTALA prohibition on delaying emergency screening for payment: A tax-exempt hospital may request payment before a scheduled, non-emergency service consistent with its billing policy and must make financial assistance available; in the emergency department, screening and stabilizing treatment may not be delayed to inquire about payment, so pre-service collection applies to scheduled services only.
Payer contract copay and deposit terms and the state's patient billing rules: The copay is the plan's figure from the benefits response; the payer contract and some state laws limit what may be collected in advance from insured patients beyond the known cost sharing, so the deposit follows the estimate and the policy's rule.

Company policies

The amount requested is the computed copay, the estimated share or the policy's deposit, with what it covers stated; never a guess from the card.
Card data is entered by the patient on a secure screen; the front desk and the call center never see it.
Emergency services are never conditioned on payment; pre-service collection is for scheduled services.
The billing system is the system of record for the payment on the encounter.

Controls

Amount prefill from the benefits, the estimate and the policy.
Pre-visit request with a link and check-in fallback.
Secure, tokenized capture.
Plan offer where the amount qualifies.
Billing system posting to the encounter with receipt.
Estimate reconciliation and refund routing.

Clocks and deadlines

Pre-visit request: On the hospital's lead time from scheduling, with a reminder before the visit.
Reconciliation: At the final bill, with an overpayment refunded through its process.

Documents and checks

The amount and its basis
The request and the payment confirmation
The receipt with what it covers
The billing system posting

In the Decision Trace

The amount's basis and the policy applied.
Any plan offered.

In the Audit Trace

The request with time.
The capture (tokenized) with time.
The posting and the check-in flag.

The handoff

Between the front doorand the back office.

The front door

A text or portal link before the visit, the kiosk or a code at check-in; the patient pays on a secure screen.

The back office

Patient access sees status; billing receives the posting on the encounter; nobody handles card data.

The Decision Desk

A deposit the patient disputes, a prior balance under review, or a payer whose contract limits advance collection goes to patient financial services in the Decision Desk with the account and only the allowed outcomes.

Proof

In scope.Proof at scale, not one process at a time.

The kind of process Callvu runs in production for customers in this industry. Ask for a reference on this exact process. The results below are the industry's published proof; each claim code links to its record on agents.callvu.com.

23 hospitals in the Ministry of Health network run on Callvu.

Across Callvu customers

More than 1,000 processes are live across Callvu customers.

Across Callvu customers

Questions

What buyers ask next,answered plainly.

What amount is requested?

The copay from the benefits response, a deposit against the estimated share, or the policy's deposit for the service, with what it covers stated; a prior balance only where the policy allows.

How does the front desk stay out of PCI scope?

The patient enters the card on a secure screen from their phone or the kiosk; the front desk and the call center never see or key the number.

What if the patient overpays against the estimate?

The payment is reconciled at the final bill and the overpayment goes to the refund process.

Related processes

Patient cost estimates for insured patients Patient payment plans Pre-registration for scheduled services Patient refund requests Try it in the sandbox All healthcare processes

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