Pharmacy merchant accounts are among the most difficult to get processing for, but there’s several tips I’ll share which can both help speed the process and increase the chance of being accepted for merchant account approval. Pharmacy is up there at the top of high risk processing. It’s difficult to get good rates for an online pharmacy. I’ve spoken with many banks about this, and here’s the things they look for when doing risk assessment for a pharmacy:

Always: a valid license. This may sound obvious, but we’ve had places send us fake pharmacy licenses and they’re easy to spot. It must be valid in the country you’re doing business. Fake ones will be spotted easily because risk assessment knows how to validate these.

If outside the U.S. (most are) then at the minimum be incorporated within the EU. A good processor like the one I work with will even help them incorporate within the EU to assist them in get accepted by a bank. It’s a thing that banks require all the time to get an offshore pharmacy business accepted. The reason behind it is it helps establish legitimacy when assuming risk for a place overseas.

A six month processing history is really important (but not mandatory). This scores big points with an underwriting bank, I can’t say enough about it. Internationally especially, an owners credit can’t be established because FICO scores don’t work outside the U.S. Within the United States we have that, and things like Dun & Bradstreet for business credit. Six months of processing history is one of the magical things they look for. A new Pharmacy isn’t the end of the world, people start a new business all the time. It’s just if you have that, it’s probably the single thing to get a lower rate and also a higher monthly volume limit.

An 800 number for customer service. This is big, and many times overlooked. You can use a place like Ringcentral to forward the line to your business. The good places that do risk assessment will call the number to see who they get. This also prevents code 75 chargebacks, which are inquiries from a customer for a charge they don’t recognize. Having this number on your account descriptor goes a long way towards preventing them.

Not using anonymous proxy services for domain registration. This is another red flag when risk assessment goes over an online pharmacy. Don’t hide, it’s a really bad perception for any bank who is going to take on the risk of underwriting what is basically a line of revolving credit. It helps in lowering the rolling reserve as well as time in arrears for payments, and even the delay of payments. The more transparency the better.

Low chargebacks. This is probably the most important of all. Things a pharmacy can do is things like shipping orders with tracking, and requiring the cardholder signature (not just the default of leaving it at the door, or an adult signature). 2.14 percent is the typical number a bank will accept before it gets red flagged by their automated system.

A problem that can come up for overseas pharmacies is shipping costs. The US postal service is the cheapest, but they don’t track internationally. As soon as it crosses borders the tracking doesn’t work. With Fedex or UPS they keep track of it, but the costs can skyrocket by comparison. Of course, 100 pills of a Viagra clone isn’t going to weigh that much, but it is an added expense compared to the USPS.

The Web Site: A professional web site is a must. It has to be finished with no broken links or under construction pages. If it’s a startup pharmacy you don’t have to accept orders of course, but the products must be all there. Also, don’t make any changes to the site after it’s submitted for consideration for merchant processing. Any change a bank spots like new products, will start the whole process again. Click every link to test it, and the contact page or about us must have complete information.

Documentation: When putting an application in, send all the documents they ask for. If anything is missing, it just stalls the approval process. It’s a really big deal here. Clearly scan passports and other documents, or FAX them in with a quality FAX machine.

Overall, it’s not that difficult to get an online pharmacy approved, even when located offshore. The thing banks look for the most is being incorporated within the EU for legitimacy, and how the products are shipped. Also a customer service number and not hiding domain registration will help you the most. If you need further assistance, call 800-715-8053 or visit our site at Merchant Service Today or contact us on Skype at merchantservicetoday3 which is especially handy for long distance conversations in differing time zones.

With the U.S. economy problems, and the merciless pricing of many drugs these days by the pharmaceutical companies, it’s causes explosive growth of many offshore pharmacies. They key is not just knowing which banks will underwrite a pharmacy, but also which ones are reputable. Unfortunately, many pharmacies have few choices and have been taken advantage of, especially with places in Antigua and Panama scams in recent years. We do know how the reputable ones are, and if you need help or more information, please call us at 813-442-7552 join us on Skype at merchantservicetoday3