High-risk merchant account for telehealth providers with a Georgian company

We arrange telehealth merchant accounts for Georgian companies by preparing a detailed underwriting file and introducing the business to acquirers with an appetite for this specific profile. Our process begins with a review of your clinical operations, including the types of consultations offered, your prescribing policies (if any), and the jurisdictions of your patients and licensed clinicians. We verify that your website and patient intake processes are compliant with card network rules, particularly around service descriptions, refund policies and patient consent.

We then compile a full Know Your Business (KYB) pack. This includes your Georgian company's registry extracts and charter, proof of address, and KYC documents for the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and directors. Crucially, we assemble evidence of your clinical legitimacy, such as clinician licences, data protection policies, and any required registrations in your target markets. This file is presented to acquiring partners, typically EEA-licensed acquirers or other international institutions comfortable with both the telehealth MCC and Georgian-domiciled entities, ensuring a smooth and transparent underwriting process.

Underwriters for telehealth merchant accounts focus on two main areas: the medical and regulatory legitimacy of the service, and the corporate and financial standing of the Georgian entity. They will scrutinise your clinical governance framework, demanding copies of clinician licences and verifying they are valid for the regions you serve. Your prescribing policy will be a key document, particularly regarding any medications that are regulated or have potential for abuse. We will not place telehealth providers involved with controlled substances unless full, specific licensing is presented.

Underwriters will conduct a full review of your website, checking for clear terms of service, a patient data privacy policy compliant with standards like GDPR, and transparent pricing. They require evidence of a physical or registered address in Georgia. For established businesses, they will analyse at least six months of processing statements to assess chargeback and refund rates. For new ventures, they will evaluate the business plan and financial projections. Finally, they will conduct KYC checks on all directors and UBOs to ensure the operation is run by fit and proper individuals.

Using a Georgian company for a telehealth business presents specific opportunities and challenges for acquiring. Georgia's streamlined company registration process allows for rapid setup of an LLC, and entities with Virtual Zone status can benefit from tax incentives, which is attractive to founders. However, from a payments perspective, acquirers will look for signs of substance to ensure the company is not merely a shell.

While Georgian banks are accessible, international acquirers often prefer to see a local director or at least a tangible management presence in the country. This demonstrates operational commitment. The primary currencies for processing will typically be USD and EUR, as few acquirers have an appetite for settling in GEL for high-risk industries. The National Bank of Georgia's regulatory oversight is well-regarded, but most acquiring relationships for this profile will be with institutions licensed outside of Georgia. Your corporate documents, such as the registry extract and charter, must be professionally translated into English for submission to international compliance teams.

Telehealth merchant accounts are frequently declined or closed due to three primary failures: inadequate clinical licensing, ambiguous prescribing policies, or poor website compliance. An application will be immediately rejected if the provider cannot produce valid, current licences for its doctors or therapists in every jurisdiction they serve. Similarly, accounts are often terminated if an acquirer discovers the business is facilitating the sale of regulated medications without the proper authority, or if its prescribing practices are deemed irresponsible.

Another major reason for closure is high chargeback ratios, often stemming from recurring subscription models that are not clearly disclosed to patients. A confusing checkout process, an unclear payment descriptor on bank statements, or a difficult-to-find cancellation policy can lead to disputes that breach the acquirer's threshold. Our file preparation process mitigates these risks by ensuring your clinician licensing is presented clearly, your prescribing and refund policies are robust, and your website meets the stringent compliance standards required by high-risk acquirers from the outset.

For a Georgian telehealth provider with a complete file, the typical timeline to secure a live merchant account is between three and six weeks. The first week is dedicated to our internal review and file preparation, where we work with you to assemble all necessary corporate, clinical, and financial documentation. The following two to five weeks involve the acquirer's underwriting and compliance review. This timeframe can be extended if there are complex questions about your operating model or if additional documentation is required.

Once approved, you will receive integration credentials for a payment gateway. During the initial months, your account will be subject to lower processing limits and a rolling reserve, which may be set at around 10% for six months, depending on the specifics of your model. Maintaining the account requires keeping chargebacks consistently low (ideally below 0.5%), providing prompt responses to any inquiries from the acquirer, and notifying them of any changes to your business model, such as serving new countries or altering your service offerings.