Mashreq and Toothpick have launched an embedded lending product that lets patients apply for financing inside clinic networks, no branch visit, no separate bank application, no BNPL cap.

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Until now, patients in the UAE needing high-cost dental work or aesthetic procedures faced a familiar friction: financing options either topped out too low, required a separate bank visit, or came with enough paperwork to discourage the treatment altogether. A new partnership between Mashreq and Toothpick is designed to close that gap.

The two companies have launched Mashreq NEO Credit Loans, an embedded financing product built into Toothpick's clinic management platform, allowing patients to apply for loans of up to AED 150,000 directly at the point of care, without leaving the clinic's digital ecosystem.

What makes this different from standard BNPL

Buy-now-pay-later products have proliferated across UAE retail and healthcare over the past few years, but they carry hard ceilings — typically a few thousand dirhams — that make them unworkable for implants, orthodontic treatments, or aesthetic procedures running into five figures. The Mashreq-Toothpick product sits in a different category entirely, functioning as a fully underwritten personal loan rather than a deferred payment scheme.

That distinction matters for both patients and clinics. Clinics receive the full disbursed amount upfront once a loan is approved; patients repay Mashreq on a structured schedule. Neither party is exposed to the default risk that can complicate peer-to-peer BNPL arrangements.

How the application works inside a clinic

1. The clinic initiates a financing request through Toothpick's platform — no separate tool or login required.

   
   

2. Mashreq authenticates the patient and sends a secure link to complete the loan application.

   
   

3. Once approved, funds are disbursed directly to the clinic. The patient leaves with a clear repayment schedule.

The process requires no branch visit and no separate Mashreq account setup at the point of application — patients interact with one link on their device while seated in the consultation room.

Mashreq's embedded finance push

For Mashreq, the Toothpick deal is part of a broader Banking-as-a-Service strategy that embeds its lending products inside third-party platforms rather than requiring customers to engage with the bank directly. Healthcare represents a natural vertical for this model: treatment decisions are often made quickly, financing is a known barrier, and the transaction values are large enough to justify full loan underwriting rather than card-based credit.

"Our collaboration with Toothpick reflects Mashreq's commitment to delivering innovative and accessible financial solutions that meet real customer needs. By embedding high-value financing solutions directly into the healthcare journey, we are enabling patients to make important treatment decisions with greater ease while supporting clinics with a seamless, trusted payment experience."

— Ghazal Al Sakaal, Global Head of Ecosystems and Platform Banking, Mashreq

Toothpick's role: network scale and clinic infrastructure

Toothpick operates a platform connecting patients with dental and aesthetic providers across the UAE — currently more than 1,000 clinics. That network footprint is central to the partnership's value: Mashreq gains distribution inside healthcare facilities without building its own clinic relationships, while Toothpick adds a high-ticket financing option that providers can offer patients directly.

"Our partnership with Mashreq introduces a new standard for healthcare financing in the UAE. We thank Mashreq for their trust in the Toothpick ecosystem, and we look forward to innovating together by combining Toothpick's strong clinic network with Mashreq's digital lending capabilities. Using innovation and technology to expand access to care and help bridge financial challenges will remain our focus and commitment," said Sary Azakir, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, Toothpick

The product launches initially across dental and aesthetic clinics. Both companies have signalled plans to extend into other healthcare verticals — a logical next step given that specialist medical procedures, ophthalmology, and orthopedics all share the same financing dynamic: high treatment value, reluctant patients, and a historically thin set of payment options sitting between a credit card limit and a personal loan application.

Whether the model expands depends partly on uptake, and partly on how the UAE's broader embedded finance regulatory framework evolves. For now, it represents the first time a Mashreq loan product has been originate-able inside a UAE healthcare platform at scale.