This article can provide guidance and answer questions about when, why, and for which type of businesses a pharmaceutical waiver must be applied to a Practice Better Payments account.
We have organized this article into the following sections to help you assess your need to have a pharmaceutical waiver, steps to move through the process, and additional considerations:
- Basic Information about Pharmaceutical Waivers
- The Process of Applying for a Pharmaceutical Waiver
- Information about the Pharmaceutical Waiver Questionnaire
- Additional Considerations and FAQs
Basic Information about Pharmaceutical Waivers
Q: What is a pharmaceutical waiver and what does it do?
A: The application of a pharmaceutical waiver to your Practice Better Payments account will allow you to sell pharmaceutical products in compliance with all the strict selling, buying, and processing laws that control their sale.
Q: Who or what is considered a pharmaceutical business?
A: Stripe considers a business to be a pharmaceutical business if it sells, dispenses, markets, or facilitates the selling, dispensing, or marketing of a prescription or pharmacy-only medicine in response to orders placed over the Internet.
Source: Stripe’s Prohibited and Restricted Businesses List - FAQs
Q: Why do pharmaceutical businesses need a pharmaceutical waiver to process payments through Practice Better Payments?
A: The pharmaceutical industry is a highly controlled market with strict selling, buying, and processing laws that control their sale. The application of a pharmaceutical waiver confirms your business’s compliance with all applicable laws.
Q: Do I need a pharmaceutical waiver?
A: If you plan to sell pharmaceutical products through your Practice Better Payments account, you are required to have a pharmaceutical waiver applied to your account. Without a pharmaceutical waiver in place, your Practice Better Payments account will be terminated by Stripe because pharmaceutical businesses are on Stripe’s Prohibited and Restricted Business List.
Q: In which countries can Stripe support pharma waivers?
Stripe can support pharma waivers in the US, Canada, EU, Australia, UK and Japan.
The Process of Applying for a Pharmaceutical Waiver
What are the steps to get a pharma waiver applied to my Practice Better Payments account?
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Acquire one of the following:
- Merchant Healthcare Certification with LegitScript (available globally)
- Healthcare Merchant Accreditation with the National Associate of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) (US and Canada only) or
- Any equivalent regional governing body certification (ex: GPhC in the UK)
If you already have your certification, proceed to step two.
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Register with the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS) as a 90% Rule Merchant if 90% or more of your sales are HSA or FSA-eligible. This registration will allow you to continue accepting HSA and FSA cards after the pharma waiver has been applied to your account.
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Set up your Practice Better Payments account. Once you have submitted your application, send an email to payments@practicebetter.io so we can ask Stripe to surface their pharmaceutical waiver questionnaire in your Stripe Dashboard (Step 4).
- Complete Stripe’s pharmaceutical waiver questionnaire and submit it along with your LegitScript or NABP certification through your Stripe Dashboard. To access the Stripe pharma waiver questionnaire, log in to your Stripe Dashboard through your Practice Better Payments Dashboard. Once you have completed your questionnaire and have your LegitScript or NABP certification ready, submit both through the Stripe Dashboard.
Do not send Practice Better your pharmaceutical waiver questionnaire or your LegitScript or NABP certification, we cannot submit these documents on your behalf.
If you have any questions, please contact Stripe’s Support team by selecting Contact Support from the help menu in the top right corner of your Stripe Dashboard:
Information about Stripe’s Pharmaceutical Waiver Questionnaire
Q: What information will I need to provide in Stripe’s pharmaceutical waiver questionnaire?
A: In Stripe’s questionnaire, you will need to provide information such as your business name, website URL, weekly sales volume, etc.
If you have any questions while completing the questionnaire, please contact Stripe’s Support team or email payments@practicebetter.io.
Q: How long will it take Stripe to review my questionnaire and approve/deny my request for a pharmaceutical waiver?
A: Once you have submitted your Stripe pharmaceutical waiver questionnaire, it can take 4-6 weeks to receive a response for US and Canada-based businesses.
For larger businesses and in cases where additional information is required to support an application, the waiver process review and approval time can take longer.
Q: How will I know if or when my pharmaceutical waiver has been approved or denied by Stripe?
A: Stripe will send an email confirming whether your pharmaceutical waiver has been approved or denied.
Q: What is the most common reason for a pharmaceutical waiver’s denial, and are they different in the US and Canada?
A: The most common reason for a denial, when a business has an active and valid LegitScript or NABP certification, is not filling out the questionnaire completely and/or correctly. To ensure your application is processed promptly, please answer all of the questions on the questionnaire and ensure the information is accurate, including your phone number.
In the United States, businesses seeking pharmaceutical waivers with Stripe and their financial partners are usually successful, provided their questionnaires are complete and accurate.
In Canada, due to additional standards and requirements by financial institutions, successful waiver approvals are less frequent even when the necessary certifications have been provided. Canadian businesses are often required to submit more documentation than is required for approval in the US, e.g. information about their organizational structure.
Additional considerations and FAQs
Q: Can I sell pharmaceutical products through my Practice Better Payments account while my questionnaire is being reviewed?
A: No, you cannot process payments for any pharmaceutical products before or while Stripe reviews your pharmaceutical questionnaire.
While you cannot process payments for pharmaceutical products, you can process payments for any of your other services through your Practice Better Payments account, including for appointments, packages, and memberships.
Q: Will having a pharma waiver applied to my Practice Better Payments account affect my ability to accept payments for telehealth appointments?
A: No, your ability to accept payments for telehealth appointments through Practice Better will not be affected by applying a pharmaceutical waiver to your Practice Better Payments account.
Q: With a pharmaceutical waiver applied to my Practice Better Payments account, can I sell pharmaceutical products globally?
A: No, cross-border sales of pharmaceutical products are prohibited by Stripe.
If you are a US-based business, you can only sell pharmaceutical products to your clients based in the United States.
If you are a Canada-based business, you can only sell pharmaceutical products to your clients based in Canada.
Q: Will having a pharmaceutical waiver applied to my Practice Better Payments account affect my ability to accept HSA or FSA cards?
A: Yes, when the pharmaceutical waiver is applied to your account, your account’s merchant category code (MCC) will change from 8099 to 5912, which will prevent you from accepting HSA and FSA cards until you have become a member of the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS) as a 90% Rule program member.
More information about SIGIS and the 90% Rule Merchant Attestation.
Q: Who can help me with registering with the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS) as a 90% Rule program member?
A: We recommend utilizing the resources on the SIGIS website and specifically the steps to becoming an SIGIS member and the 90% Rule program requirements for assistance with this process.
Q: How will Stripe know I have become an SIGIS 90% Rule program member?
A: Stripe will receive an email from SIGIS once you have successfully registered as an SIGIS 90% Rule program member. You do not need to take any action to confirm your registration or membership.
Q: Why does my business's MCC change to 5912 after completing the pharmaceutical waiver process?
A: Due to the application of Stripe’s pharma waiver, your business’s merchant category code (MCC) will change from 8099, which is the code assigned to telehealth and other medical service providers, to 5912, which is the code assigned to businesses selling pharmaceutical products.
Merchant category codes (MCCs) are four-digit numbers used by credit card companies to classify businesses based on the type of goods or services they offer. Learn more about MCCs.