Funerals are all about providing families and friends with gratifying end-of-life services to honor their loved ones.And for families, the experience goes beyond the service itself. Your website, your staff, and even your payment options are part of delivering a 5-star service to a family.
So when you hire new staff or choose a financing partner you must ask yourself: “Do I trust this person or partner to represent my funeral home in delighting families?”
Of course, every family is different, with varying desires for the specifics and scope of final arrangements. They will also differ in their ability and preference when it comes to payment.But working with a trusted funeral financing partner like LendingUSA provides funeral homes the peace of mind that their funeral home is being well represented, and the family is being well taken care of.
Funeral financing offers payment convenience for families that cash and credit cards don’t. Financing isn’t just for people who can’t afford funeral services. It’s for the everyday family that wants and expects flexible fixed payment options.
Helping Some Families and Delighting Others
There’s no question that cost is a factor for a large percentage of at-need families.
The average funeral cost, including viewing and burial, reached nearly $8,000 in 2021.
This figure represents a significant and often unexpected expense for many families. When a loved one passes, some families are faced with overextending credit cards or depleting savings or retirement accounts to cover funerals. Others may pare back on desired services to stay within their budgets.
This is not to say that financing is only helpful to at-need families who struggle financially.
Offering point-of-sale (POS) financing allows funeral homes to present more service options to a broader customer base without worrying about the price tag. In other words, it allows you to focus on delivering the 5-star service that a family wants and utilize LendingUSA financing to delight families at the point of sale.
LendingUSA funeral loans may be approved for up to $25,000, so families can give their loved ones the memorial they deserve. At the same time, funeral homes can endear themselves to families who appreciate the payment flexibility to give their loved ones a fitting farewell.
The Hidden Value of Convenience
There is a misconception that funeral loans are solely for consumers who can’t afford to pay up-front. Many consumers prefer the convenience of financing. POS financing has grown thanks to improved technology, increased merchant adoption, and significantly rising repeat use among consumers.
Buy-now-pay-later financing fueled nearly $100 billion in consumer spending for online purchases alone in 2020. Market analysts expect spending via POS loans to continue its ascent as more online retailers and brick-and-mortar businesses respond to consumer demand and offer financing as a payment choice.
A 2020 survey found that over 50 percent of American consumers have already used a buy-now-pay-later loan. A recent POS financing report by the business consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that 60 percent of consumers are likely to use POS financing over the next year. Furthermore, utilization is not limited to those with low incomes or poor credit.
The McKinsey & Company review indicates that approximately 65 percent of POS loans originate with consumers with credit scores above 700. As for merchants, the same report found that offering POS financing enhances sales conversion, increases per-transaction spending, and attracts more customers.
For funeral homes and their clients, the availability of financing provides the comfort of multiple payment options and the convenience of a fast, simple application process.
Team Up with an NFDA-Endorsed Funeral Financing Partner
It is rare in today’s business world that you would not rely on another company for at least some part of your customer experience. That’s why it is crucial to work with the right partners that you trust to uphold your quality of care and reputation.
LendingUSA recognizes the importance of service to families in the funeral industry, and that cost and payment options are factors in families’ experiences with a funeral home. Therefore, LendingUSA offers high funeral loan amounts with low fees, flexible monthly payment plans, clear terms, fixed rates, and no prepayment penalties along with excellent customer service.
Through LendingUSA, funeral homes get paid directly and in full within days, and LendingUSA assumes the risk in the event of loan default. LendingUSA has also eliminated its merchant discount fee for funeral homes and offers a 101-percent payout on all funded funeral loans**.
LendingUSA is proud to be the only POS financing solution officially endorsed by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the world’s largest support organization for funeral professionals. Eleven state funeral directors’ associations also endorse LendingUSA, and its acclaimed POS platform has been used by more than 10,000 merchants, including more than funeral homes.
These relationships drive LendingUSA to continue to refine its offerings for merchants and consumers alike. For example, based partly on input from its funeral home partners, LendingUSA recently launched FastScreen™ for funeral homes.
FastScreen allows funeral homes to confidentially prescreen customers before initiating a conversation about payment. FastScreen uses an applicant’s name and addresses to generate a prequalification decision in seconds. If a customer prequalifies, the funeral home can discuss expenses with financing through LendingUSA as a payment option; if not, the funeral home can guide the customer to other payment methods. FastScreen assessments are based on soft credit checks, so there is no impact on customers’ credit scores.
Best of all, the FastScreen process can drastically reduce uncomfortable decline discussions. In fact, Fastscreen can generate up to a 90% pre-approval rate for prequalified customers!
LendingUSA Delights Families
LendingUSA is a leading fintech company dedicated to its merchant partners and passionate about providing a positive experience for borrowers. They care particularly for those facing a challenging event such as losing a loved one.
The Better Business Bureau accredits LendingUSA. It has an A+ rating, and it boasts a nearly perfect 4.8 out of 5-star rating on BirdEye, where it has thousands of favorable customer reviews. Since its founding in 2015, LendingUSA has processed over $10 billion in borrower loan applications and have served over 150,000 borrowers.
LendingUSA’s merchant partners have access to free customer support and marketing assistance, so they can deliver 5-star service to their own clients. To learn more about point-of-sale financing for funeral homes, call LendingUSA today at 800-994-6177 or connect with us online to schedule a free demo.
If you want to delight families and provide a 5-star service from the first phone call or handshake, then consider how families see flexible payment options. Not as a last resort for an emergency payment, but rather as an expected option when it comes to paying at the point of sale in 2022.
The best part is that we are a trusted financing partner for over 3,300 funeral homes in the United States, and endorsed by 11 state funeral associations and the NFDA.
Our funeral merchants rely on our capabilities to arrange financing for their consumers so they don’t have to. Instead, they can focus on what they do best: helping families plan the most gratifying celebration in honor of their loved one.
**Earn 1% of the amount financed of every point-of-sale funeral loan that funds directly to your business. Payouts are subject to loan cancellations and/or refunds. 1% Earning Program is subject to change or discontinuation without notice.
