Virtual credit card payments: can my practice refuse the fees?
Payers increasingly "pay" by virtual credit card (VCC), which quietly costs you the card's processing fee — often 2–5% of the payment — turning a full payment into an underpayment. You can generally opt out: federal rules give providers the right to receive payment by standard EFT (ACH), and you don't have to accept VCC or the fee that rides with it.
What actually matters
- A VCC payment costs you the interchange fee — 2–5% skimmed off every claim paid that way adds up fast
- Under HIPAA EFT standards, providers can require payment via standard ACH/EFT (the 835/EFT pairing) instead of VCC
- Contact the payer or its payment vendor and formally opt out of VCC, electing EFT — get the change confirmed in writing
- Watch for default enrollment: some payers and clearinghouse payment vendors set VCC as the default and quietly enroll you
- Audit past remittances — VCC fees already taken are effectively underpayments you may be able to address
Common questions
Do I have to accept a virtual credit card from a payer?
Generally no. Providers can elect standard EFT (ACH) under HIPAA electronic-payment rules, which avoids the card processing fee. You have to affirmatively opt out, because VCC is often the default.
How much do VCC fees cost a practice?
Typically the card interchange rate, roughly 2–5% of each payment. On a practice's full commercial volume that's a meaningful, recurring skim off money you were fully owed.
Where Volari fits: VCC fees are a silent haircut on claims that otherwise paid in full — the same allowed-vs-received gap Volari surfaces when it reconciles your remittances line by line.
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