CareCredit and Clarus put insurance and financing on one vet checkout screen

Synchrony, the lender behind the CareCredit card, announced on October 28th, 2026 the official launch of a partnership with Clarus Technology that puts a client's pet insurance coverage and CareCredit financing options on one screen at the vet's checkout. It comes two years after Synchrony began sending pet insurance reimbursements straight to the card.

The Clarus portal lets veterinary staff look up coverage in real time, search, submit and track insurance claims, and see financing options matched to what a client's policy covers. The companies say it is free to practices, onboarding takes 10 to 15 minutes, and it connects to major practice management systems. Synchrony (NYSE: SYF), based in Stamford, Connecticut, describes itself as having been part of American commerce for nearly a century.

CareCredit now sits on both sides of the claim

In October 2024, Synchrony launched a reimbursement link with Pets Best that credits approved claim payments to a client's CareCredit card. At the time Synchrony said CareCredit was offered at more than 25,000 veterinary practices. Its CareCredit partnerships with pet insurers now also include Pumpkin, Figo and Embrace, and Synchrony says the reimbursement option is available to 1.7 million insured policyholders nationwide, if they are insured through one of those four companies and hold a CareCredit card.

The Clarus tie-up moves that arrangement into the exam-room workflow. "This partnership with Clarus is a meaningful step forward in how we support veterinary teams and the pets they care for," said Jonathan Wainberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Pet, CareCredit, a Synchrony solution. Michael Sullivan, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Clarus, said, "With greater visibility into insurance and financing options, veterinary teams can help pet parents confidently plan for routine care and manage unexpected emergencies."

Clarus opened the free portal on September 28th, 2026, and said more than 500 practices had planned to integrate it, as our earlier story on the launch covered.

Most pets have no policy, so the financing half matters

The portal's insurance view reaches the clients who carry coverage. NAPHIA's 2026 State of the Industry report puts U.S. pet insurance penetration at 4.27%, with dogs at 5.99% and cats at 2.29%. By our math, about 96 of every 100 U.S. pets have no policy. The same report shows insured pets grew 9.0% from 2024 to 2025, and total U.S. premium volume reached about $5.7B at year-end 2025.

That is where the card side of the product comes in. The companies say CareCredit can also pay for eligible costs insurance does not cover, including grooming, boarding, training and food, at locations in its network. The portal's financing view is tailored to each client's insurance coverage, the companies said.

Other lenders already pitch the same moment. Our Vetspire story covered CareCredit's embed in that practice software, Thrive Pet Healthcare's 2022 partnership with Scratch, and Sunbit's integration with Shepherd Veterinary Software. Scratch's own site lists Scratch Checkout for practices and says it works with the top practice management systems.

Practices get one more screen and a demo to schedule

For a practice, the change is one place to see a client's policy and a financing offer before the estimate is discussed. For a hospital group, the corporate dashboard consolidates insurance and financing metrics by region and by practice. Clients of carriers outside the four named partners, such as Trupanion, Lemonade or Nationwide, fall outside the reimbursement option.

The companies did not say how many practices are live on the portal. They invite practices to schedule a demo and sign up through carecredit.com/clarus. The one adoption number on offer is the 1.7 million insured policyholders CareCredit says can already use the reimbursement link.

Source: Synchrony via PR Newswire