Optometry practices generate revenue from exams, frames, lenses, contact lens orders, and specialty services. Frame sales alone average $200–$500, and specialty lens packages reach $800–$1,500. Most patients pay by card.
For a practice doing $30,000–$100,000/month in patient card payments, processing fees cost **$9,000 to $42,000 per year**.
The Optical Processing Challenge
Frame + Lens Purchases Are High-Ticket
A pair of designer frames ($300) with progressive lenses ($400) generates a $700 card transaction. Processing at 3%: $21. Across 200 frame sales/month, that's $4,200/month or $50,400/year in processing on optical sales alone.
Contact Lens Annual Supplies
Annual contact lens supplies ($300–$800) are increasingly ordered in-office and paid by card. Each order generates processing fees.
Exam Copays and Specialty Services
Comprehensive exams, retinal imaging, dry eye treatments, and myopia management generate additional card transactions.
Network Offset Pricing for Optometry
| Purchase | Cash/Check | Card |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Exam Copay ($40) | $40.00 | $41.60 |
| Designer Frames | $350.00 | $364.00 |
| Progressive Lenses | $450.00 | $468.00 |
| Contact Lens Supply (annual) | $400.00 | $416.00 |
| Retinal Imaging | $50.00 | $52.00 |
Patient Acceptance
- Optical purchases are planned. Patients shopping for frames are making deliberate purchase decisions — not impulse buys.
- High-ticket purchases incentivize cash/check. Saving $28 on a $700 frame+lens purchase is meaningful.
- Exam copays are routine. The $1.60 difference on a $40 copay doesn't register.
| Monthly Card Sales | Annual Processing (2.8%) | With NOP |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $13,440 | ~$0 |
| $70,000 | $23,520 | ~$0 |
| $100,000 | $33,600 | ~$0 |
Priya M. focuses on payment processing for healthcare and wellness providers. With a background in healthcare administration and practice management, she understands the unique billing challenges that medical, dental, and veterinary offices face.
$10,000+
in potential annual savings with optimized payment processing.
Get Started
The first step to reducing your processing costs is understanding exactly what you are paying today. Request a free statement analysis and we will show you a side-by-side comparison of your current costs versus what you could save with Network Offset Pricing.