Pharmacies often operate in retail environments and typically serve patients from all backgrounds and cultures, making them surprisingly complicated cases from a payment processing perspective. Pharmacists need to consider methods for accepting all kinds of payments, including debit, credit, checks, cash, prepaid cards, and ACH transfers. They can also benefit from providing multiple payment channels, including in-person transactions as well as billing by mail, telephone, and internet. Most merchant account providers can supply all of these services to pharmacists, but not all of them will do so within every pharmacist’s budget.
To help you find a provider that fits your business as well as your budget, we’ve put together the following list of the best merchant accounts for pharmacies. The companies on this list offer virtual terminals, online billing, point-of-sale systems, and other useful tools for operating your drug store. They are also known to provide low-commitment contracts with transparent pricing and quality customer service. To find the right provider for your retail pharmacy, be sure to research each processor’s products and features and compare pricing and terms.
Best Merchant Accounts for Pharmacies
Host Merchant Services is a Newark, Delaware-based merchant account provider that is well-suited for pharmacies of all sizes and specialties. The company’s products and services include point-of-sale solutions, online marketing tools, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, mobile credit card processing, gift and loyalty programs, and merchant cash advance. Host Merchant Services specializes in e-commerce businesses and provides a free website and email address to interested merchants. Host is a good fit for pharmacies that would like to affordably accept online and in-person payments.
Host Merchant Services has received only positive feedback on public forums, with most reviewers singling out the company’s customer service for praise. Host offers interchange-plus pricing with no early termination fees to all of its merchants, meaning that users will enjoy the most transparent pricing model and can cancel service without penalty. The Better Business Bureau gives Host an “A+” rating, and CPO also gives the company an “A+.”
For more information, visit the Host Merchant Services website or call (888) 727-4538.
Based in Woodland Hills, California, PaymentCloud is a merchant account provider that specializes in serving standard to high risk business types. The company’s products and services include point-of-sale solutions, mobile phone swipers, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, EMV-compatible terminals, and merchant cash advances. These features allow low to high volume pharmacies to accurately track their extensive inventory of prescription drugs and keep accurate records of customer data to quickly facilitate payments. For those reasons, PaymentCloud is a good option for pharmacies.
PaymentCloud provides a dedicated account rep to all new merchants for the life of the account. The company has not received any negative complaints on consumer forums, and it customizes its pricing according to each merchant’s business type and processing history. The BBB does not maintain a profile for PaymentCloud at this time, but CPO gives the company an “A.”
For more information, visit the PaymentCloud website or call (888) 506-7859.
Active since early 2014, Fattmerchant is a merchant account provider leading the industry’s move toward flat-rate, subscription-style pricing. The company’s products and services include EMV-compatible countertop terminals, a virtual terminal, an online payment gateway, an online shopping cart, mobile phone processing, QuickBooks integration, online invoicing, and recurring billing. Fattmerchant is capable of serving all standard-risk pharmacies and offers a comprehensive dashboard for tracking all payments and customers.
Fattmerchant offers multiple pricing plans with different rates. Merchants can select either a plan that charges a flat fee on all transactions or a plan that charges a fixed monthly fee plus a fixed per-transaction dollar amount above interchange. In other words, merchants can choose whether or not they are charged a percentage markup on each transaction. Fattmerchant currently has an “A” rating on CPO and an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau.
For more information, visit the Fattmerchant website, or call (866) 397-9826.
Additional Options
Based in Lindon, Utah, National Processing is a merchant account provider e-commerce solutions, and mobile payments for pharmacy merchants. National Processing offers month-to-month contracts with no early termination fees and interchange-plus pricing, all excellent options that offer flexibility, transparency, and cost-effectiveness to any merchant. Furthermore, National Processing offers ACH processing to pharmacies so they can easily accommodate their customer’s preferred method of payment.
National Processing has a good track record of customer service, as demonstrated by having fewer than 10 complaints across different consumer review forums. National Processing also has an “A+” rating with the BBB as well as being awarded an “A” overall from our review of the company.
For more information, see the National Review website.
Located in Chesapeake, Virginia, CDG Commerce is another great option for pharmacies of all sizes. CDG has been privately owned since 1998 and offers a proprietary payment gateway (as well as a discount on Authorize.Net’s payment gateway), a virtual terminal, QuickBooks integration, mobile phone processing, sales reporting, security breach protection, and vulnerability scanning. CDG Commerce is ideal for pharmacies that require a simple, low-cost, fully integrated method for accepting payments online and in person.
CDG Commerce only charges a low, fixed fee per transaction and offers competitive contractual terms, including no annual fees, monthly minimums, or termination fees. CDG also offers next day funding to most business types. CDG has earned an “A+” rating in our review as well as an “A+” rating with the BBB.
For more information, see the CDG Commerce website or call (888) 393-1079.
Transparent Merchant Services is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based merchant account provider that offers a unique, membership-style pricing model. Rather than charging a percentage of each transaction, Transparent charges a small, flat fee above interchange on all transactions in addition to a fixed monthly membership fee. This makes Transparent remarkably affordable for pharmacists who process a low number of large-ticket transactions. It also keeps the company’s pricing predictable and transparent from month to month. Transparent has the potential to be the cheapest merchant account provider on this list for certain pharmacies depending on sales volume.
Transparent has received exclusively positive public feedback since it opened in 2008 and offers month-to-month agreements with no early termination fees. Transparent provides its merchants with live phone support during business hours as well as chat support and email support. Our review of Transparent gives the company an “A” rating, while the BBB gives Transparent an “A+” rating.
For more information, see the Transparent website or call (888) 510-2937.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Payline Data has consistently rated as one of the best merchant account providers on CPO since we first reviewed the company. Payline is capable of serving pharmacies of all sizes and types. The company offers traditional retail credit card terminals, mobile phone credit card processing (via Flint), an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, QuickBooks integration, online invoicing, and API integration for websites. Payline Data is a great option for almost any retail pharmacy due to its wide range of services and competitive pricing.
Payline Data offers interchange-plus pricing with month-to-month contracts and no early termination fees. As a result, the company enjoys a large number of positive testimonials from its clients on this website and in other consumer protection forums. The Better Business Bureau currently assigns Payline Data an “A+” rating, and CPO also gives Payline an “A+.”
Based in San Francisco, California, Dharma Merchant Services is a highly rated merchant account provider that places a corporate emphasis on social consciousness and community outreach. The company’s products and services include countertop terminals, mobile device payment processing, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal (Authorize.Net), QuickBooks integration, small business financing, and custom fundraising pages for non-profits. The company extends special pricing to non-profit organizations and donates a percentage of its profits to non-profits of its choosing every year. Dharma is best suited to provide savings for non-profit pharmacies or pharmacists who process over $10,000 per month.
Dharma scores highly in our review and elsewhere due to its positively reviewed customer service, transparent marketing practices, competitive interchange-plus rates, and fair service agreements. The BBB currently assigns a rating of “A+” for Dharma Merchant Services, while CardPaymentOptions.com also gives the company an “A+.”
For more information, see the Dharma Merchant Services website or call (888) 404-1237.
