Payments · Telehealth6 min readUpdated November 3, 2026

Can You Sell Telehealth Services on Shopify?

Can a telehealth brand run on Shopify? What Shopify Payments allows, third-party processor fees, subscriptions, and keeping health data off the store.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 11 sources

Article summary

Store yes, payments reviewed

TL;DR

You can run the storefront on Shopify, but Shopify isn't built for the clinical or payment side of telehealth. Shopify Payments doesn't name telemedicine, applies its processors' restricted lists, and treats prescription drugs as regulated. Shopify's own policy says uploading HIPAA-protected health information isn't supported. Most brands pair Shopify with a separate clinical flow and a processor that accepts telehealth.

Shopify Payments lists "prescription drugs" among products that "require regulatory approval or compliance"; the list "isn't exhaustive".
In the US, Shopify Payments' restricted categories "are provided by each Payment Processor"; Stripe restricts "Telemedicine and telehealth services".
Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy names "uploading Protected Health Information subject to HIPAA" as an activity its platform doesn't support.
A third-party processor costs 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) or 0.2% (Plus) per order on top of its own fees (Shopify pricing, November 2, 2026).
Shopify Subscriptions works only with Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen or Stripe.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

This guide is part of our hub on telehealth payment processing. The general guide, for any business: high-risk payments on Shopify. Processor by processor: Shopify and Shopify Payments for high-risk stores.

What Shopify's rules say

Shopify has no telehealth rule of its own. Three documents decide what you can do.

Fig. 1Where the telehealth rules sit on Shopify

Document	What it says	What it means for telehealth
Shopify Payments eligibility	"Products or services that require regulatory approval or compliance, such as [...] prescription drugs, medical devices"1	Selling the medication through Shopify Payments is out of scope
Shopify Payments Terms (US)	RestrictedCategories "are provided by each Payment Processor in your Designated Country"2	The processor's telemedicine rule applies; Stripe restricts it6
Shopify Acceptable Use Policy	Activities not supported include "uploading Protected Health Information subject to HIPAA"3	Intake answers and clinical data can't live in Shopify

The store is rarely the problem. The payments and the health data are.

Shopify Payments eligibility, Payments Terms (US) and Acceptable Use Policy.

Telemedicine itself isn't named on the eligibility page1. That isn't an approval: Shopify says its list varies by region and isn't exhaustive1.

Watch out

If Shopify Payments ends the relationship, "a Payment Processor may elect to continue to hold any funds deemed necessary" for chargebacks, refunds and other obligations2. Have a second route before you scale.

Shopify Payments or a third-party processor?

For a consultation or membership, Shopify Payments runs on Stripe's rules, which require a telemedicine review6 7. Many telehealth brands use a third-party processor that has underwritten them, and pay Shopify's fee on each order.

Fig. 2Shopify fee on a third-party processor, by plan

Basic2%
Grow1%
Advanced0.6%
Plus0.2%

Source: Shopify pricing, read November 2, 2026

Shopify pricing, read November 2, 2026.

Shopify pricing page, read November 2, 20264. Charged on top of your processor's own rate.

Example

A brand on the Grow plan sells $80,000 a month of memberships through a third-party processor. Shopify's fee is 1%, so $800 a month before any processing cost4.

How to compare processor offers: telehealth processing fees and reserves.

Subscriptions on Shopify

Treatment plans and memberships recur. Shopify's own Subscriptions app limits the gateways you can use: Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen and Stripe, and availability "depends on your region and the gateway's terms of service"5.

With Shopify Payments or Stripe: the telemedicine review still applies6.
With a specialized telehealth processor: check that it's on the supported list, or bill subscriptions outside Shopify's app.
Either way: clear terms before payment and online cancellation. Rules: how to sell telehealth services on subscription.

Fig. 3What you sell, how you take payment, and the rule that applies

A telehealth brand on ShopifyConsultation alone, or consultation plus medication

Consultation on Shopify PaymentsStripe's telemedicine review applies
Consultation on a third-party processorShopify fee of 0.2% to 2% per order
Medication on Shopify PaymentsOut of scope: prescription drugs
External checkout after intakeFee only if orders return to Shopify

The medication changes everything: decide who sells it first.

Shopify Payments eligibility; Shopify pricing; Stripe, Prohibited and restricted businesses.

Keep health data out of Shopify

Shopify says its platform doesn't support uploading HIPAA-protected health information3. Stripe's agreement says the same about its own systems9. A developer in Shopify's community forum put it plainly: a telemedicine flow "cannot be done using a 3rd-party app if you hope to remain HIPAA compliant"; the fix is to separate health data from the Shopify transaction8.

In practice:

Product names stay neutral
"Membership" or "Care plan", not a condition or treatment.
Intake runs elsewhere
In a clinical system, linked to the order by an ID.
Order notes, tags and metafields
Order notes, tags and metafields carry no clinical data.
Emails from Shopify
Emails from Shopify confirm the order, not the diagnosis.

More: do you need a HIPAA BAA with your payment processor?

Three ways to run telehealth with Shopify

Setup	How it works	Watch for
Shopify store + clinical integration	Shopify sells the membership; an integrated clinical partner runs intake and prescribing	Data separation; who charges for the medication
Shopify store + external checkout	Shopify is the catalog; a separate checkout and processor take payment after intake	Third-party fee if orders return to Shopify4
Headless telehealth stack	Your Shopify or custom front end calls a telehealth stack that runs intake, clinicians, pharmacy and payments	Fit with the stack's model and coverage

Whatever you choose, decide who is the seller of the medication. That changes the processor review entirely: charging the consultation and the medication separately. Checkout setup on the store side: Shopify checkout for telehealth companies.

How Tagada helps

TagadaPay beside or behind your Shopify store

TagadaPay plugs into the store you already run, with "enhanced review for regulated verticals"11: "Already on Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickFunnels or BigCommerce? Drop TagadaPay in."

Routing across TagadaPay and processors such as Stripe, NMI and Airwallex, with a cascade to another processor when one is down or times out: "Already on Stripe, NMI or Airwallex? We orchestrate those too."
Fraud filters: native 3DS2, device intelligence and a rules engine
Your vault, portable: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers."
Subscriptions with retries and automatic recovery

Building the whole telehealth brand? Tagada Rx runs storefront, "US-licensed clinicians in the patient's state", pharmacy and payments in one stack, plugs in headless through the SDK, and "The card is only captured once a doctor approves"10. US patients only, by selection.

Apply for processing

TagadaPay beside or behind your Shopify store

Updated on November 3, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Shopify for a telehealth business?

Yes, for the storefront and the sale of a membership or plan. Shopify doesn't support storing HIPAA-protected health information, so intake and clinical records need a separate system, and your processor must accept telehealth.

Does Shopify Payments allow telemedicine?

Shopify Payments doesn't name telemedicine, but its US restricted categories come from its processors, and Stripe restricts "Telemedicine and telehealth services". Expect a review, and don't assume an open store means approval.

Can I sell prescription medication on Shopify?

Not through Shopify Payments: "prescription drugs" are listed among regulated products. Medication is normally sold by a licensed pharmacy. See online pharmacy payment processing.

Is Shopify HIPAA compliant?

Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy says uploading Protected Health Information subject to HIPAA isn't supported on its platform. Design your store so no health data enters it.

What does a third-party processor cost on Shopify?

Shopify charges 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus per order, on top of the processor's own fees (read November 2, 2026).

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026

TagadaPay

Telehealth on Shopify? Keep a second payment route ready

Tell us what you sell and how you sell it. Each application is underwritten, and approval is not guaranteed.

Apply for processing See pricing

01Tell us what you sell and how
02Underwriting reviews your business
03Process through TagadaPay alongside your other processors