Updated September 19, 2024

A telemedicine merchant account is ideal for any online business that is selling pharmaceuticals or doctor-prescribed medication online. Payment processing for this type of industry undergoes a stringent vetting process by aggregate merchant account providers, which can make it tough to set up merchant accounts. That's why it's best to utilize a high-risk merchant account if you're operating an online pharmacy.

Why is Telemedicine Considered a High-Risk Industry?

Telemedicine merchant accounts are necessary because telemedicine services are part of a high-risk industry. A telemedicine business is labeled high-risk because of a few factors.

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Chargebacks In Telehealth

Some companies in telehealth and telemedicine have issues with chargebacks because of the consultation process. Before online visits, patients had to see their doctor to potentially get the prescription they wanted. Now this consultation has moved online. However, there is still the chance that your online doctor will not prescribe you certain medications if they're bad for your health.

As a result of the rejections after consultations, some telemedicine businesses only supply prescriptions after you upload a third-party prescription. This saves them the trouble of rejecting you and leaving you without the medicine you thought you were paying for. It's cases like that that result in high chargebacks.

High-Ticket Payment Processing

Another reason the telemedicine industry is labeled higher risk is because many of their transactions are expensive, known in the payment processing industry as 'high-ticket.' Credit card processors and account providers are more wary of these types of transactions because chargebacks and returns that are more expensive have a greater impact on them financially.

Risk of Fraud

Because telemedicine businesses are healthcare providers, they store electronic health records. This means a breach could mean the release of sensitive patient information. Payment processing companies know this, making them wary of working with telemedicine businesses. They need to find merchant accounts with high-security measures in place who are comfortable with the risk.

One of the impacts of being high-risk is that many traditional merchant services providers decline to provide accounts for telemedicine businesses.

Telemedicine Payment Processing

Telehealth payment processing has some interesting nuances from a transaction standpoint. For one, telemedicine is now highly regulated in the USA. After an influx of illegitimate and untrustworthy websites selling prescription products in the 2010s, Google decided to enforce a more rigorous vetting process for online medicine websites.

As a result, there is now an online telemedicine certification that allows companies to validate their website, products, and overall reputability to sell medication to citizens. Beyond having a good standing with customers, if you obtain certification, you'll also be able to share online advertisements which can be essential for growing your business.

LegitScript Certification

A Legitscript certification allows you to prove that your company and products are safe for the public to purchase. Not only do they review your website, but they also take a step-by-step approach to auditing your merchant account to make sure all transactions arrive at a real business location.

Legitscript should be considered hand-in-hand with your high-risk merchant account so you can process payments and advertise on major platforms. Companies like hims.com, ro.com, and rexmd.com all have this certification. So if you want to compete with the big players, be sure to apply.

Pharmaceutical Merchant Account

Most telemedicine companies aren't the direct source for their prescription services or medications. As a result, you may find it more beneficial to team up with a company that sells the prescriptions themselves. That way you can focus on bringing in new customers and leads to your telehealth website.

If you're operating through a fulfillment company, then there's a chance you will use their merchant account. Their account is likely combined with other companies so they can hedge the risk of any one customer. This is a type of aggregate merchant account provider. However, this means that your business practices directly affect their merchant account reputation. So it's important to have some key components in place before accepting payments.

It's also important to note that like the telemedicine industry, the Pharmaceutical industry is also considered high-risk, and many merchant services companies are hesitant to work with them. If you work with their merchant account, it will most likely also be a high-risk account.

How to Apply for Telemedicine Merchant Accounts

Are you in the telemedicine industry? Zen Payments makes it easy for healthcare providers to apply for a merchant account so you can process credit card payments and accept cashless payments. While many merchant services providers won't work with you, we specialize in telemedicine merchant services.

What does the application process look like for telemedicine services companies?

1. Fill out an online application
2. Provide necessary financial information, such as your business bank account and financial history.
3. Zen Payments will process your information and go through the underwriting process
4. You'll be approved in one to two weeks. We have a 98% approval rate, making this process as painless as possible.

Activate Your Telemedicine Account

Once you have your high-risk telemedicine merchant account through a company like Zen Payments, be sure to monitor it for fraud, or any possibly malicious practices. While we use fraud prevention software, keeping a clean merchant account will keep your account running smoothly, and keep the door open for credit card processing.

Why Choose Zen Payments for Your Payment Solutions?

If you are a telemedicine provider looking into merchant account providers, Zen Payments is the best choice. We have over 15 years of experience working with merchants in high-risk industries, including the telehealth industry. We partner with over 15 financial institutions and have a 98% approval rating. This means we will create a customized merchant services plan that meets your company's needs.

We'll work to set up merchant accounts, payment processing, payment gateways, recurring billing, and anything else you need to accept credit card payments. We will ensure you have the ideal credit card processing solutions in place and can handle ACH payments and card-not-present transactions if necessary.

If your telehealth business needs to accept payments, please reach out! Our experts can help you get set up quickly.