Online pharmacies allow customers to conveniently order from home, often at a significant discount due to lower overhead. They also provide a wide selection of products that can be delivered discreetly. 

As long as you work with a high-quality merchant account for online pharmacies, you can provide all of these benefits – as well as innovative payment solutions that will make settling customers’ bills easy, secure, and customized to their needs.

Advantages of partnering with an online pharmacy merchant account provider.

Due to the specialized nature of the online pharmacy sector, you will need to collaborate with a payment services provider with expertise in your industry. Although you can expect to pay higher per-transaction and monthly costs — and may undergo extra scrutiny when applying — this partnership will enable you to reap many rewards.

For one thing, you can accept HSA and FSA payments, allowing your customers to have more funding options from which to draw. 

Thanks to your provider’s expertise in online pharmacies and the associated security challenges, you will benefit from added anti-fraud and chargeback protection as well as 24/7 customer support to ensure that interruptions are kept to a minimum and issues are resolved quickly. 

Also in the security vein, the online gateways and other systems they provide will be PCI-compliant, including end-to-end tokenization and encryption to safeguard payments at every stage. 

Finally, they will furnish you with programs that integrate seamlessly with any third-party software that you are already using in order to optimize your entire back office.

But just what innovative payment options can your experienced online pharmacy payment processor bring to your business? The following four methods may be just the beginning of what you and your customers will enjoy in the years to come, especially as technology evolves.

1. ACH payments.

Of course, credit and debit cards remain the first choice for many customers as they seek to complete their purchases with your online pharmacy. 

However, they are by no means the only option available today. A popular alternative to cards is the ACH transfer, sometimes also called an eCheck.

ACH is an acronym for “Automated Clearing House,” a network of banks and other financial institutions that makes these direct payments possible. 

ACH payments are used for everything from deposits of paychecks to transactions wherein money is electronically withdrawn either for a single payment or on an ongoing basis.

The benefits of recurring payments are compelling. With them, online pharmacy merchants and their customers have a predictable way to exchange products for funds. Late payments are minimized, and settlement generally happens in just a few business days. 

Security remains robust throughout the transaction, with anti-fraud measures in place that stop the proceedings should any irregularities arise.

With recurring payments, the customer’s buying experience can be optimized. As long as their account information is up-to-date, they can look forward to receiving their medical products without interruption. 

Meanwhile, you as the merchant can use the communications avenues opened with this payment method to further build your relationship with the buyer.

2. Payment links.

These days, anything you can do to make resolving an invoice fast and easy is in your best interest as an online pharmacy business. With the help of your merchant account for online pharmacies provider, you can configure your system to offer payment links.

You have probably already seen them as a consumer. They are URLs, QR codes, or “pay now” buttons that are connected to your secure checkout page. They can appear on your website’s shopping cart page or be sent via text message or email directly to your customer. What’s more, they can be customized and even auto-filled with your customer’s name, address, and other details to make the payment process even faster and more convenient.

3. Mobile and digital payment options.

Many of your customers already are enrolled in digital wallet services such as PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. As a result, they have already created secure repositories that hold their sensitive payment details and make them available for in-person contactless and online purchases.

Expanding your offerings to accept these mobile payment options gives your clients the ability to pay using a vendor they already trust. As a merchant, you do not need to worry about storing sensitive cardholder details since this task is handled by the digital wallet’s provider. 

Buyers can have easy access to an updated record of their purchases and the amounts paid, thus reducing confusion and making it simple to retrieve details at a later date if necessary.

4. International currencies.

If you do business with clients living in other countries, it is vital that you allow them to purchase your pharmaceuticals in their native currency. 

Providing transparency about pricing and any international exchange fees up front will help to engender trust while simultaneously reducing the number of chargebacks stemming from confusion or billing errors.

A top-quality high-risk online pharmacy merchant account provider will enable you to configure your systems to accept the monetary denominations your customers prefer. They may also have ongoing connections with local banks and other financial institutions in your customers’ local area that enable you to save on the transaction fees you will be required to pay.

The online pharmacy sector provides local and international customers alike with a discreet, private, and secure way to purchase medications and other health care-related items. When you offer a wide array of payment options, you can be well on your way to attracting and maintaining a loyal customer base. 

In this highly competitive arena, doing so is one of the most important steps you can take to increase client satisfaction while never losing sight of security and a highly personalized relationship with each buyer. If you are not already offering these payment alternatives, talk to your merchant account provider today to broaden your business and boost client satisfaction rates.