Synchrony Acquiring Allegro Credit To Expand Health Financing Platform

Financial services firm Synchrony has reached an agreement to buy Allegro Credit, which provides consumer financing in hospitals, dental and vision care and audiology, Synchrony said in a Tuesday (Jan. 26) press release.

Allegro’s merchant network and customer base will be joined with CareCredit, Synchrony’s health and wellness financing platform, according to the release. Terms of the deal were not released.

“Throughout its history, Allegro Credit has built a reputation for service excellence and innovation,” CareCredit CEO Beto Casellas said in the announcement.

Casellas added that its options for financing healthcare products “help people live fuller, healthier and happier lives” by connecting people with the care they want and need.

“It was essential to join a company that shares our cultural values, growth objectives, innovation mindset and commitment to our merchants and customers,” Allegro Credit President and CEO David Parsons said in the release.

“We see an amazing opportunity to amplify our differentiated innovative offerings through Synchrony and CareCredit’s network, reach and scale. This deal will help us accelerate the ability to improve people’s lives through the healthcare treatments they need or capture our customer’s passions with music products,” Parsons said.

Michael Bopp, executive vice president and chief customer engagement officer for Synchrony Financial, spoke with PYMNTS about how anti-money laundering (AML) expectations are changing and how Synchrony has developed customer engagement and cybersecurity protocols to address all aspects of money laundering.

“Consumers want speed and personalization, but they don’t want to sacrifice security,” he said. “Because the online environment continues to evolve at a fast pace, our AML strategies need to be fluid to keep up with the increased functionality and continual evolution of technology our customers expect and deserve.”

Money laundering has always troubled financial institutions, but today’s digital banking system creates additional complexities as fraudsters around the world take advantage of financial technologies to launder approximately $2 trillion annually. Banks are scrambling to match cybercriminals’ pace, and some are adapting quicker than others.