If you sell peptides and you have been declined for a merchant account, or approved and then shut off a few months later, you are not doing anything wrong. You are standing in the middle of a fight between the card brands and an industry that grew faster than the rules did.
I have watched this exact movie before. Hemp products went through it. Vape went through it. Early on, everyone gets an account somehow. Then the crackdown comes, the accounts disappear overnight, and the only businesses still processing are the ones that built on the compliant side from the start.
Peptides are at that early stage right now. Here is what is actually going on, why most peptide sellers cannot get processing, and the one path that works.
Why won’t processors approve peptide businesses?
Because “peptides” means three very different businesses, and processors have trouble telling them apart. So most of them say no to all three.
Research-use-only sellers. Vials sold online with a “not for human consumption” label. Everyone involved knows how the product is being used, and so do the card brands. The compliance organizations that Visa and Mastercard rely on treat that disclaimer as a red flag, not a shield. This is the segment that will eventually be shut down, the same way the miscoded hemp and vape accounts were.
Clinics and telehealth platforms that prescribe peptides. A licensed provider evaluates the patient, writes a prescription, and a licensed compounding pharmacy fills it. This is legal, it is growing fast, and it is the segment that can get processing. It just has to prove it.
The peptides that are not legal to prescribe yet. In 2026 the FDA started re-evaluating several popular peptides, including BPC-157 and TB-500, and an advisory panel recommended six of them for compounding in July. Nothing has been finalized as of this writing in September 2026, and I will update this post when that changes. Until it does, no compliant clinic can prescribe them and no compliant processor can support them.
If you are in the second group, you are not high-risk because of what you do. You are high-risk because you look like the first group on paper. The fix is proving you are not.
What happens to peptide merchants who get approved anyway
I have seen three ways peptide sellers get processing today, and two of them end badly.
Some describe the business as “supplements” or “lab supplies” on the application. That works until the processor’s risk team looks at the website, which they do. The account gets terminated, the reserve gets held for months, and the owner is added to a list, called MATCH, that makes the next application harder, or impossible under the same business entity and the same owner.
Some go with a processor that will take anything for a price. Rates of 8 to 12 percent, offshore banks, or an aggregator running your sales through its own account. Those setups vanish when the crackdown comes, and the reserve usually goes with them.
The third way is the one that lasts. Get certified, then get processing. It is slower up front and it is the only version I am willing to put my name on.
What is LegitScript certification and why does it matter for peptides?
LegitScript is the independent certification that Visa, Mastercard, Google, and Meta all use to decide whether a healthcare business is legitimate. If you prescribe peptides, GLP-1s, or hormone therapy, certification is what tells everyone at once that you are licensed, your pharmacy is licensed, your patients get a real provider evaluation, and your website does not promise medication without a prescription.
Here is why it matters so much for this industry: certification unlocks two things at the same time. It satisfies the card brand requirements so a processor can board you, and it makes you eligible to apply for healthcare advertising on Google and Meta. Most peptide clinics I talk to want the ads even more than they want the processing. Certification is the gate for both.
Without it, you are asking a processor to take your word for it. With it, a third party has already done the checking.
How long does LegitScript certification take?
Two to four weeks if you are prepared. Three to four months if you are not.
That gap is the whole story. LegitScript’s own review is fast. What takes months is the clinic discovering, one deficiency notice at a time, everything it did not have ready. The first merchant I helped through this process was a well-run telehealth platform with real doctors and real patients, and it still took them close to three months. Every requirement LegitScript has is reasonable. The problem is that nobody publishes the full list in one place, so most clinics find it one deficiency notice at a time. That is why I built one.
The three things that stall most applications:
- Licensing gaps. Your providers have to be licensed in every state where your patients are, not just the state your clinic is in.
- An unvetted pharmacy. “We use accredited compounding pharmacies” is not an answer. LegitScript wants the pharmacy’s name and license number, and the pharmacy itself has to pass.
- Website language. Anything that reads like you can buy medication without a consultation gets flagged. “Get semaglutide online” is a deficiency notice. “Prescription required” next to every product and price is what they want to see.
Once a complete application is in, most clinics are certified in under four weeks, and about half in two.
What does LegitScript certification cost?
Going direct, roughly $3,125 the first year: a $975 application fee plus $2,150 for the annual certification. After that it is the annual fee.
Through EMS, it is $2,000 per year through our processor’s enterprise program with LegitScript, which also puts your application in a priority queue. The discount comes with two conditions I want to say out loud: you process with us for at least one year, and the agreement carries a personal guaranty. If you leave early, the fee reverts to the non-discounted $6,000. I would rather you hear that from me now than find it in the paperwork later.
You contract with LegitScript directly either way. We are not in between you and them. We are the ones who tell you what they are going to ask for before they ask.
Which peptide businesses qualify for a merchant account?
If you can honestly say yes to all four of these, you can get certified, and once you are certified we can process you.
- A licensed provider (MD, DO, NP, or PA) evaluates every patient and makes the prescribing decision. A questionnaire alone does not count.
- Your providers are licensed everywhere your patients are.
- Everything you sell is legal to prescribe and compound today. No research-use-only products, nothing on the FDA’s do-not-compound list.
- Your pharmacy is a licensed 503A or 503B and you can name it.
If any one of those is a no, I cannot help you yet, and neither can anyone else who plans to still be in business in two years. Fix that first and come back.
If all four are a yes, you are closer than you think. The clinics we see most often at this stage are new med spas and wellness clinics adding weight-loss or peptide programs, telehealth startups building compliant from day one, and practices that already have a medical director and just got cut off by Stripe or Square.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a merchant account for research peptides?
Not one that lasts. Research-use-only sellers cannot be LegitScript certified, and without certification the card brands treat the category as prohibited. Accounts that get approved anyway are usually miscoded, and they get terminated when the processor looks closely. I am not willing to place them.
Does LegitScript certification guarantee my ads get approved?
No. Certification makes you eligible to apply for Google and Meta healthcare advertising. Each platform still reviews your ads separately. What certification does is get you past the door that is closed to everyone else.
My medical director signs off but does not see patients. Does that count?
Under LegitScript’s standard, no. A licensed provider has to actually evaluate each patient and make the prescribing decision, and that has to be documented. A director who signs off on a questionnaire is one of the most common reasons an otherwise good clinic gets a deficiency notice.
What happens if my processor finds out what I sell after I am approved?
The account gets terminated, and in most cases the processor holds your reserve for the full chargeback window, which can be six months or longer. Some merchants also end up on the MATCH list, which makes every future application harder. That is a topic for another post, but it is the reason I push so hard for doing this in the right order.
Find out if you are ready before you apply
I put everything LegitScript asks for on one page. Download the readiness check, mark every box you can honestly check today, and you will know whether you are two weeks away or two months away.
Download the LegitScript Readiness Check (PDF)
If you already know you are ready, start your application at emspayments.com/application. There is no application fee, and 98% of qualifying businesses get approved.
About the author: Julie Franke is a Certified Payments Professional (CPP) and has led Electronic Merchant Services since 2015. She has worked in payments since 2009 and specializes in helping high-risk and high-ticket businesses get approved, stay approved, and keep their money moving. EMS has served business owners since 2001.