Telemedicine services and online pharmacies can take card payments when they are matched with a provider whose policy covers healthcare. Prescription sales sit in the strictest card scheme tier, so many processors avoid them, but specialist acquirers board registered pharmacies and clinics. What decides the outcome is registration in every market you serve, a real prescribing process and, often, third-party certification.
In Great Britain, every pharmacy, including those that only operate online, must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and meet its standards, and the GPhC has specific guidance for distance and internet pharmacy services. Online prescribing services in England are generally registered with the Care Quality Commission. Acquirers check these registers against your company and website.
Since 1 July 2015, under Directive 2011/62/EU and Implementing Regulation 699/2014, every website in the EU that sells medicines to the public at a distance must show the common logo, which links to the seller's entry in the national register. Acquirers and card schemes treat a missing or broken logo as a sign of an unlicensed seller.
For MCCs 5122 and 5912, acquirers commonly ask for third-party healthcare merchant certification such as LegitScript, which presents its certification as meeting card brand requirements for those codes. Applying for certification before you apply for processing avoids weeks of delay later.
Explain how a patient is assessed, who prescribes, where prescribers are licensed, how identity is checked and how you stop people from ordering medicines they should not have. A questionnaire that leads straight to a basket with no real clinical review is one of the clearest warning signs for an underwriter.
In the UK and EU, advertising prescription-only medicines to the public is not allowed. Name the service and the condition with care, avoid promoting a specific prescription drug, and check affiliate and social media content as closely as your own pages, because underwriters read all of it.
A licence covers the country or state that issued it, not every market you can ship to. Controlled drugs carry extra rules on prescribing and supply, and in the US, prescribing controlled substances through telemedicine is governed by federal DEA rules that have been under review. Tell the acquirer where patients are and which medicine categories you supply.
How UK companies get card processing: Companies House and FCA checks, settlement in GBP, UK and UK–EEA card fees, and the payment methods UK customers use.
How German companies are underwritten for card payments: Handelsregister and BaFin checks, SEPA settlement and the payment methods German shoppers expect.
How Dutch companies are underwritten for card acceptance: KVK and DNB checks, SEPA settlement, and why iDEAL decides Dutch checkout conversion.
Provider suitability differs from business to business: two companies in the same industry can receive opposite answers because of licence, market mix, ticket size or dispute history. We do not state that a provider accepts an industry unless that provider has confirmed it, and no one can guarantee approval.
Provider fit in Telemedicine and Online Pharmacy depends on more than the industry itself: licence, markets, volume and dispute history all change the answer. Answer a few quick questions to start checking your own situation.
Industry, company country and estimated monthly volume, that is all we need to begin.
Yes. Registered online pharmacies and telemedicine services process cards through acquirers whose policy covers healthcare, under the pharmacy MCCs and the scheme registrations they require. Approval and final terms are always the provider's decision.
Prescription sales usually are. Visa places pharmacy MCCs 5122 and 5912 in Tier 1 of its Integrity Risk Program. Consultation-only services without prescription supply are often underwritten more like ordinary healthcare, but the acquirer decides based on the whole model.
Typically 5912 for drug stores and pharmacies or 5122 for drugs and druggists' sundries. Telemedicine consultations may be coded as medical services. The acquirer assigns the code to match your real business.
Often, yes, for pharmacy models. Acquirers commonly ask for LegitScript or similar certification before boarding merchants under 5122 and 5912. Having it in place before you apply shortens the review.
A pharmacy in Great Britain must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, including online-only pharmacies. Online prescribing services in England are generally registered with the Care Quality Commission. Acquirers check these registers before boarding.
Some acquirers accept registered pharmacies and clinics that prescribe them, but expect close review of your prescribing process, eligibility checks and advertising. Selling prescription-only medicines without a proper consultation, or advertising them to the public, will fail review.
Both restrict it. PayPal's acceptable use policy requires prior approval for prescription items and telemedicine services, and Stripe lists online pharmacies, prescription products and telemedicine as restricted. Check their current policies for your own country.
You describe your service, registrations, prescribing process, markets, volumes and processing history once in our online application. Your profile is matched with a payment provider whose policy accepts healthcare businesses like yours, and your account is prepared with that provider so you can start processing. It is free for merchants, and nothing is shared with a provider until you submit. Approval and final terms are always the provider's decision.
An iGaming payment solution is the combination of acquirer, PSP or gateway, local payment methods and payout rails that lets an operator take deposits and pay out winnings. Which of those will work for you is decided almost entirely by licensing and player geography: a provider that boards a Curaçao-licensed casino is rarely the same one that boards a UKGC-licensed brand, so the first step is matching your licence and markets to an acquirer's gambling programme.
Trading platforms are underwritten on regulatory status and client geography. A regulated brokerage in a recognised jurisdiction has a materially different provider pool than an offshore entity taking retail clients worldwide.
Crypto acceptance depends on what the customer receives. On-ramps selling digital assets, custodial exchanges and crypto-adjacent SaaS are underwritten as three different risk profiles.
Add your business essentials once. Your profile is compared against provider criteria, and nothing is sent until you submit your onboarding pack.
Check my payment optionsNothing is shared with a provider until you submit your onboarding pack. Approval is always the provider's decision.
