Mater Private Hospital: Digitising Hospital Catering with Facilipay

Mater Private Hospital partnered with Facilipay to modernise its internal catering system, introducing structured digital accounts, role-based controls, and transaction-level visibility while maintaining a simple and fast checkout experience for staff.

Client: Mater Private Hospital
Industry: Healthcare
Format: Written case study
Read time: 3 min

<h2 style="text-align: left;">Digitising internal catering and payroll-linked food accounts in a hospital environment</h2>Operating catering inside a hospital presents a different set of operational challenges compared to traditional retail environments. At Mater Private Hospital, staff do not pay at the till. Instead, all purchases are recorded digitally and reconciled at month-end through payroll deduction.Mater Private Hospital partnered with Facilipay to modernise this internal system, introducing structured digital accounts, role-based controls, and transaction-level visibility — while maintaining a simple and fast checkout experience for staff.<img src="https://pdxgybcqigjepeuikhea.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/case-studies/imports/1776956852217-1.png" alt="FaciliPay and Mater Private Hospital logos" width="34%" data-align="right" class="cs-img cs-img-right" style="width: 34%;">Since onboarding in December 2023, the digital wallet has become embedded in daily hospital operations, supporting stable transaction volume, strong repeat usage, and improved financial oversight.Mater Private Hospital operates its own in-house café and restaurant, staffed internally rather than through a third-party catering partner. The café serves a wide range of employees including consultants, surgeons, nurses, radiologists, IT teams and administrative staff.This environment required a solution that could:<ul><li>Manage payroll-linked staff accounts without till payments</li><li>Apply differentiated discounts by designation or department</li><li>Control free allowances to prevent misuse</li><li>Provide clear, exportable transaction reporting for finance</li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">The challenge</h3>Unlike a traditional workplace café, Mater Private Hospital operates on a payroll-linked credit model. Staff do not pay at the till; instead, purchases are recorded against their account and reconciled monthly through payroll.Within this structure, the hospital needed greater visibility, control, and fairness across a diverse staff population.Specifically, the site required:<ul><li>Staff do not pay at the till</li><li>Clear segmentation across staff levels and departments</li><li>Controlled enforcement of free allowances and discounts</li><li>Reliable monthly reporting for finance and payroll reconciliation</li></ul>In a healthcare environment, operational control and auditability are essential. The challenge was to modernise the system without disrupting daily service or adding complexity for staff.<h2 style="text-align: left;">Facilipay’s role in the ecosystem</h2>Facilipay was implemented as a closed-loop digital wallet tailored to the hospital’s operational structure.<img src="https://pdxgybcqigjepeuikhea.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/case-studies/uploads/1776957022176-dijrld-cropped.jpg" alt="Diagram of Facilipay's role in the ecosystem" width="91%" data-align="center" class="cs-img cs-img-center" style="width: 91%;">Key capabilities in use include:<ul><li>App-based scanning at checkout (no physical payment required)</li><li>Account balances tracked automatically per staff member</li><li>Monthly transaction export for payroll reconciliation</li><li>Role-based segmentation using employee ID structures</li><li>Campaign logic to control allowances and benefits</li><li>Stamp-based loyalty for repeat engagement</li></ul>This created a structured and auditable internal catering system, replacing manual reconciliation and informal benefit allocation.<h3 style="text-align: left;">Adoption and engagement over time</h3><img src="https://pdxgybcqigjepeuikhea.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/case-studies/imports/1776956853009-4.png" alt="Graph showing stable user adoption and engagement" width="64%" data-align="right" class="cs-img cs-img-right" style="width: 64%;">Since full operational rollout in 2024, usage has stabilised at consistently high levels.Performance highlights:<ul><li>Average monthly transactions: ~7,350</li><li>Average monthly active users: ~680 staff</li><li>Average repeat rate: ~87%</li></ul>The high repeat rate indicates that the digital wallet is not used occasionally—it is embedded in daily hospital routines. Monthly transaction volume has remained stable within a narrow range, demonstrating operational consistency rather than promotional spikes.<h2 style="text-align: left;">Role-based targeting across hospital staff levels</h2><img src="https://pdxgybcqigjepeuikhea.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/case-studies/uploads/1776957083473-f9lly2-cropped.jpg" alt="Diagram of role-based staff segmentation" width="52%" data-align="left" class="cs-img cs-img-left" style="width: 52%;">Hospital environments operate across multiple tiers of staff. Using employee ID segmentation, Mater Private Hospital grouped staff into structured roles within Facilipay.This enabled:<ul><li>Targeted discounts (e.g., 20% for specific medical groups)</li><li>Department-level benefit differentiation</li><li>Automatic enforcement of eligibility rules</li><li>No manual intervention at checkout</li></ul>Each staff group receives the appropriate entitlement automatically when scanning the app.This ensures fairness, compliance, and clarity—critical in healthcare environments.<h3 style="text-align: left;">Controlled allowances in practice</h3><img src="https://pdxgybcqigjepeuikhea.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/case-studies/uploads/1776957257019-7wv62v-cropped.jpg" alt="The FaciliPay app in use for payment" width="59%" data-align="right" class="cs-img cs-img-right" style="width: 59%;">The hospital provides free hot drinks on Wednesday mornings. Previously, this led to multiple redemptions per person and lack of visibility.Facilipay converted this into a structured campaign:<ul><li>One free hot drink per eligible staff member</li><li>Automatic limit enforcement</li><li>Full redemption tracking</li></ul>The benefit remains intact, but misuse is eliminated.<blockquote>One scan. One allowance. Fully controlled.</blockquote><h3 style="text-align: left;">Loyalty reinforcing everyday engagement</h3>Mater Private Hospital staff actively use the stamp-based loyalty system for drinks.The consistent redemption pattern, combined with an 87% repeat rate, demonstrates habitual engagement rather than one-time usage.Loyalty complements payroll-linked transactions by encouraging repeat visits without increasing discount dependency.<h3 style="text-align: left;">Key takeaways</h3><ul><li>Closed-loop digital wallets can replace traditional till payments in healthcare environments</li><li>Payroll-linked food accounts can be structured, auditable and automated</li><li>Role-based targeting ensures policy alignment across staff tiers</li><li>Controlled allowances prevent misuse while preserving employee benefits</li><li>High repeat engagement demonstrates operational embedding</li></ul>Together, these elements demonstrate how Facilipay enables controlled, measurable, payroll-integrated catering in complex healthcare environments.

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