Finance schemes

Private hospitals and clinics want to make it as affordable as possible for you to gain access to their treatments and surgery, so most of them will offer finance schemes to help you out. These schemes allow you to spread the cost of your treatment into affordable monthly repayments. For most schemes, you may get your finance interest free, if you pay back the loan over the first 10-12 months, which means that you would pay no more for spreading the cost than you would for paying it all in one go.

The table below provides a comparison of the offerings from some of the major private hospital companies.

  • SchemeScheme
  • Interest free?Interest free?
  • Set up fee?Set up fee?
  • Upper credit limit?Upper credit limit?
  • Time limited by provider?Time limited by provider?
  • Other featuresOther features

  • Spire

  • SchemeProvided by Zebra Health Finance
  • Interest free?Yes, if paid in either six or ten monthly instalments
  • Set up fee?£55
  • Upper credit limit?Procedure specific but upper limit of £10,000
  • Time limited by provider?Not stated. Procedure specific
  • Other features

  • BMI

  • SchemeBMI card
  • Interest free?For first 12 months then APR of 9.9% Subsequent procedures also qualify for initial 12-month interest free period
  • Set up fee?No
  • Upper credit limit?£20,000
  • Time limited by provider?Yes, two years
  • Other featuresOnline payments available via BMI website. Card payments can be made via dedicated telephone payment line

  • Nuffield

  • SchemeProvided by Zebra Health Finance
  • Interest free?Yes, if paid in either six or ten monthly instalments
  • Set up fee?£55
  • Upper credit limit?Procedure specific but upper limit of £10,000
  • Time limited by provider?Not stated. Procedure specific
  • Other features

  • Ramsay

  • SchemeProvided by Zebra Health Finance
  • Interest free?Yes, if paid in either six or ten monthly instalments
  • Set up fee?£95
  • Upper credit limit?Procedure specific but upper limit of £10,000
  • Time limited by provider?Not stated. Procedure specific
  • Other features

  • HCA

  • SchemeProvided by Chrysalis Finance
  • Interest free?Yes, for the first 12 months
  • Set up fee?
  • Upper credit limit?Up to £50,000 available with max APR of 9.9%. First 12 months interest free
  • Time limited by provider?Not stated. Procedure specific
  • Other featuresOnline payments available via HCA website including bank transfer