Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Ecommerce Hosting & Discussion : For the REAL pharmacies out there: get a direct MID

[jalami]

OK,
I've been in the online pharmacy business since 2002 and I've seen various ups and downs. Most of the downs had to do with credit card processing. I've been screwed out of 6 figures over the years and I'm still in this business out of perseverence, or stupidity, I'm not sure which.
First off was PaySystems and other 3rd party solutions that were all using Pago. Then came a slew of 3rd party providers, each one turned out to be a bad decision. One day they stopped paying us, usually because the bank closed their MID, usually because another pharmacy on the same MID was caught selling controlled substances.
Now, I know we weren't one of the bad apples. We own an actual brick and mortar pharmacy, with a doctor on staff, pharmacists, and licensed suppliers selling genuine brand name and generic medications.
The problem wasn't us. It's all the scum that were lumped into the same account as us.
The only merchant account that truly worked for us was a direct MID we had with a Caribbean bank from 2003 to 2007. It had a great rate, solid weekly payouts, short payment cycle. When the odd chargeback came our way, we could (and would) dispute it with supporting documentation, and most importantly, get the chargeback reversed.
The best part is when the acquiring bank decided to stop processing for online pharmacies, they gave us direct merchant account holders, a 60 day grace period to continue processing while we transition to new solutions. That is the point where the 3rd party processor usually screwed us out of our settlements and holdback fund by taking off with our cash.
Enough with the long story -- what am I getting at?
Lately I've been scouring the landscape for reliable processing solutions where I wouldn't be lumped again in a 3rd party account with unlicensed pharmacies shipping God knows what medications, or not shipping at all. No thank you -- I'd rather get into a different business.
I managed to get signed up with two ISOs that exclusively set up direct MIDs for all sorts of industry types, including qualifying online pharmacies. They even set me up with a reseller account if I knew other qualifying pharmacies who would like to get out of the 3rd party or uncoded trap and get with something solid. They work with banks primarily in the European zone.
The key word above is QUALIFYING. More than 90% of the scum out there does NOT qualify for this merchant account. To the ones that do, I strongly suggest you consider your processing options before the **** hits the fan. Here's the shortlist of qualifications:
- Pharmacy license is an absolute must.
- NO controlled substances (as defined by DEA and INCB Yellow / Green Lists)
- If you are shipping (pharmacy/warehouse location) from outside the US to US customers (cross border) then customers need to send their own prescriptions.
- If you are shipping from the US (US licensed pharmacy) then online prescriptions are OK.
- If you don't ship to US customers then you can be located anywhere in the world and online prescriptions are no problem either.
- Mastercard processing will require a legal opinion letter from a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
- Some processing history is indispensible (preferably 6 months' worth)
Here's the good part -- you can get Visa/MC rates as low as under 6%. More importantly your business will not be jeopardized by all the nonsense other online pharmacies get into.
Card industry regulations require an EU corp to process with a European bank, as well as PCI compliance in order to handle credit card information yourself and use gateway processing APIs.

Hi jalami,
Are you processin now with a MA ?
Are you located in USA ?
Who is your Provider and where are they located ?
I am really interested as we also have a high processin volume and we need solid strong providers as well.
Any answers appreciated.

[jalami]

Hi jalami,
Are you processin now with a MA ?
Are you located in USA ?
Who is your Provider and where are they located ?
I am really interested as we also have a high processin volume and we need solid strong providers as well.
Any answers appreciated.
Hey Calvin,
I'm currently processing with a direct MA. Located offshore, with a provider located in Europe. What kind of processing volume are you doing?

[Keybd_user]

Hi,
Thanks Jalami for your comments.
They are very useful and helpful.
Can you please indicate your provider?
Is it possible to digitize prescriptions when medication goes to USA?
About the pharmacy licensing and making of the enterprise structure who can deal with that?
If you do not wish to respond in public, please feel free to send me a PM.
Regards

hello,
well getting a direct mid is no big deal for clients processing high volume,but this seems easy although it has certain legal formalities and all and all which almost affects the buiss,
it seems so good having direct link with bank but i know all about it as i am processing from an offshore provider and they have the mid which they further use for a group of clients.
Thats what there buiss is and if we get into it,its much costly and as i told about so much formalities and all.
Although i have the link to get the direct mid but still i know all its drawbacks resulting for clients like us.
so dont just look at the big pictures my friends.
and there is no problem with the acc providers until the merchant is legit.
if still anybody wants the direct mid so i have direct links,feel free to contact me and i'll let u know all.
cheers

[jalami]

hello,
Although i have the link to get the direct mid but still i know all its drawbacks resulting for clients like us.
The main drawback I've encountered when setting up direct MIDs is all the documentation you need. Most real setups have an arduous compliance procedure. If it seemed too easy to get processing, it's probably too good to be true. There's a fair bit of costs involved too if you're not incorporated in the right place. Proper direct MIDs for online pharmacies aren't a piece of cake to get, but it's worth the effort in the end.

The main drawback I've encountered when setting up direct MIDs is all the documentation you need. Most real setups have an arduous compliance procedure. If it seemed too easy to get processing, it's probably too good to be true. There's a fair bit of costs involved too if you're not incorporated in the right place. Proper direct MIDs for online pharmacies aren't a piece of cake to get, but it's worth the effort in the end.
all the benefit for a direct mid is i consider is that you direct related with bank,no 3rd party involved in btw,now this involves risk although if you figure out the cost is the same,while you pay big big amount for the mid at first as compared to the acc providers and all just charge a bit of it,and in exchage of that we get our payments for sure,its their responsibility to deal with the banks and all.
so i consider this to be better than having a direct mid,many dont want banks to know about their buiss or volume and much more.
a sensible and successfull merchant would never get into all these issues having a nice setup and all.

Great post, I totall agree with you, if you 100% legit then direct is the only choice!

still it depends on the merchant and the buiss and all,
cheers

Hey Calvin,
I'm currently processing with a direct MA. Located offshore, with a provider located in Europe. What kind of processing volume are you doing?Hi jalami,
We are processing more than 100.000$ every month and the business is dating.
We also have companies in BVI and UK .
Please advice.

[jalami]

Hi jalami,
We are processing more than 100.000$ every month and the business is dating.
We also have companies in BVI and UK .
Please advice.
That's definitely the kind of volume that warrants having a direct mid. Having a UK company already helps a lot to get the process moving. You should talk to the same folks I talked to to get the direct MA for my biz, they're called Innovative Payment Solutions (www.inpaysolutions.com).

Jalami,
they dont even have an address on their site.How to trust them ?

[jalami]

Jalami,
they dont even have an address on their site.How to trust them ?
Calvin,
I've talked to the owners personally. But in the end, that is the great part of direct MIDs in the first place. You don't have to trust the solutions provider, since the acquiring banks do the transactions and wire to merchants directly without any participation from the solutions provider other than reviewing your application for compliance. You get full disclosure on who the acquiring banks are.

I got it.
I will contact them today.
Can you please send me a pm with your contact address jalami if you wouldnt mind ?

[jalami]

I got it.
I will contact them today.
Can you please send me a pm with your contact address jalami if you wouldnt mind ?
I would've done that much earlier but you need to make sure to accept PMs on your profile first.