Customer Spotlight Interview Series with Enterprise Payments Referral Partner Mentom Payments

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Welcome everyone to our customer spotlight video series in which we interview clients who have partnered with LegitScript Certification, including certification clients themselves, telehealth technology platforms, payment processing companies, and more. The idea is that we chat with real customers so that you can better understand the process and the value of LegitScript Certification and then decide whether partnering with us is right for your business. Today, we are happy to have with us Alexis Lichterman, senior vice president of sales at Mentom Payments, as well as our own Angela Salter, who is Vice President of certification sales and partnerships at LegitScript. Hello to both of you.

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
Hi, David. How are you?

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Great. Thanks so much for joining us today. So today, we're gonna be talking about certifying health care merchants at scale, something that is increasingly important as payments companies seek to either get into the health care vertical or to perhaps more seamlessly navigate what is a very complex and highly regulated space.

And with that, I think a good question to kick things off would be for you, Angela. Set the stakes for us. Why is health care one of the most heavily scrutinized categories in payments right now?

Angela Salter (LegitScript)
Yeah. So health care is definitely a category where the stakes are just a little bit different. Someone buys a pair of shoes online, the worst case is that they're a bad fit. Right?

But if you're buying a prescription drug or have a telehealth visit or a treatment program online, the worst case is a real harm to their health. That's a starting point for why the payments industry is paying so much attention. Health care has moved online faster than almost any category. Telehealth, online pharmacies, direct to consumer brands, new areas like GLP ones and our favorite peptides, they've all grown really quickly. Much of that growth happens in a card not present environment, and that's hard to know who's on the other end of that transaction.

At the same time, these risks are significant, counterfeit or unapproved drugs, prescriptions dispensed without a valid prescription, or unlicensed pharmacies or providers can all show up looking like a legitimate storefront. So that definitely creates exposure for everyone in the chain, the card networks, the processors, the banks, the platforms that run the ads, and most importantly, in my opinion, the patient. So regulators and networks are all asking the same question. How do we know this merchant is who they are, that they're operating in a legal and compliant manner? Frankly, even platforms like, the major ad platforms like Google, Meta, TikTok, they ask these things too because they don't wanna be the ones being, putting a a bad actor essentially in front of a patient. The rules vary by state, by country, by product, and they keep changing. So that's why trusted independent certification matters so much right now. The industry, especially the payments industry, needs a reliable way to answer that question before the money moves, not after something goes wrong.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Yeah. And I'm curious, Alexis, from your perspective, how real is that risk from where you sit? Do you see problematic health care merchants attempting to get into merchant accounts?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
We do see it all the time, actually, David. And to Angela's point, the stakes are so much higher when you're talking about a problematic health care merchant because we're talking about people's actual health here. You know, we aren't talking about the pair of shoes that just doesn't fit or maybe isn't as good a quality as it looked online.

And so we do see quite a few problematic merchants trying to move into health care because that's where the money is. Right? And we saw a big boom post COVID and during COVID with telehealth and now again with the GLP ones and the peptides. And where the money follows, the fraud follows, and the bad actors follow, and it's unfortunate.

And so as payments providers, we're not always experts on what a good health care merchant looks like. And so we do lean on, you know, companies like LegitScript who can help us legitimize these merchants and help us know, like, they have gone through a certification process, so we don't have to be the experts. And that's been huge for us because that really is the risk for us. It's just taking on merchants that seemingly look legitimate but are not.

And now we're dealing with, you know, not only potential chargebacks and, you know, risk related issues there, but, again, people's health. And that we're just we're not we're not able to do that. So so it's a big it's a big risk for us, and we do see a lot of a lot of these merchants trying to get in, and we just need a way to to know that they're they're certified and legitimate.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Yeah. Certainly. Let's take a little bit of a step back. Tell us a little bit about your business and where health care, you know, fits into your portfolio.

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
So Mentum is a wholesale ISO. We service all types of merchant accounts. We work with independent resellers, and they bring us their businesses for us to process payments for. We started seeing a boom in the health care merchants within the last year, I would say, year or two, specifically with the peptides.

Right? And we'd always seen a few telehealth merchants here and there. They were great accounts. But now we're inundated with them. And, again, knowing which ones are compliant, which ones are not, is huge. And so I would say our health care merchants have taken over a larger portion of our portfolio than they ever have and in order to do so, you know, we need to make sure that the risk and compliance is there. We have a lot of five one two two and five nine one two MCCs that are coming up on our radar that we're seeing a ton of, and we're working with our sponsor bank as well to make sure that, you we're know, doing everything the right way and and and still being able to service these legitimate merchants accordingly.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Good. So I wanna help folks understand a little bit about how a relationship between Legiscript and a prospective enterprise client might work. Angela, walk us through how the enterprise referral partnership actually operates start to finish.

Angela Salter (LegitScript)
Yeah. Thanks, David. It's pretty straightforward. It really just starts with a conversation. You speak with someone on my team so we can better understand the merchants that you work with, help you anticipate the volumes that you could expect over the next year of this type of merchant that fits within the scope of our health care merchant certification.

From there, you're essentially paired with an account manager on my team. They'll create, administer the referral codes that are specific to your business, then they'll also help with any collateral and questions that come up along the way. You get access to our partner marketing resources so we can coordinate some co branded materials, some joint events, announcements together. It's not just a transaction.

We really think about it as a a real partnership. So when you do have a merchant that needs certification, you send them over with the application code that you've given them to our client portal. They submit their application.

That code is what makes the difference. So instead of landing in the general queue to wait for an analyst, that application gets picked up pretty quickly with either priority processing or expedited processing, and it moves up the line much faster so that an analyst is assigned more quickly to begin working on your application. So from there, the analyst will review the application, and if needed, they'll ask some follow-up or some clarifying questions. If something needs remediation on the website or something along those lines, they'll ask some questions. So, at that point, really, the results are speaking for themselves. So the average applicant achieved certification in about two weeks with seventy to eighty percent of them getting there in under four weeks.

So compared to a merchant going through certification entirely on their own, a merchant gets a faster path. They get a dedicated point of contact on our side, on my team. They get a partner who's already familiar with the process, and you get a team that is here to help you tell that story to your market. So for what it's worth, the rule of the rule of thumb is simple. If you're working with 20 or more merchants in a year who might need certification, this program's definitely built for you. We're built to help get your merchants up and running so they can process revenue more quickly for you.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Alexis, despite the good reasons Angela just laid out there, I imagine there's some folks watching who, you know, still may be wondering whether, you know, a partnership is right for them or whether they should just believe certification for their merchants to deal with on their own. What made you first believe that this partnership was a good fit for Mentum?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
Well, aside from the incredible team at LegitScript, who I've known for many years now, what we kept running into at Mentum was we would sign a health care merchant. They did not realize or they were in the queue with LegitScript. They didn't realize they needed it. And we would just say, okay, come back to us when you're certified. At that point, we're losing contact. Right? We're breaking that chain that we have with the merchant to come back to us when you're LegitScript certified.

Who knows how long that will take? We didn't have access to how long the queue was. We didn't know how long it would take. And so we're just following up, following up. And at any time, a competitor could come right in and, you know, work directly with that merchant as well. So we were looking for a differentiator for one thing, which obviously the enterprise partnership provides to us because we have now that connection to the merchant where we're providing them with a code that is getting them to LegitScript with an expedited certification. That's sticky when it comes to them now using us for our merchant account. But what it also does is it helps the merchant process their payments quicker.

I mean, a lot of times, these merchants, they've got their website ready. They've got their doctors ready. They're ready to go. Everything is legitimate, but then they, all of a sudden, go to get the payment processing, and it's like, where's your LegitScript certification? They're like, well, shoot. And they lose momentum. Right? Like, they're feeling really good about getting this business going, and then all of a sudden, they need to wait in the queue.

So there were quite a few reasons for us to sign the enterprise partnership agreement because, you know, obviously, it's a differentiator for us. But, ultimately, it gets our merchants processing volume, which makes them money quicker and makes us money quicker. Right? So quite a few reasons. But I would say, you know, when I took it to leadership, you know, I obviously have to present it to our owners, and it was the clear choice. It was obvious that this is what we needed to do. We had so many telehealth merchants that were reaching out to us and then sitting in the queue that we were then following up with following up with. And I said, listen, this can expedite it for them, and we're the heroes. Awesome. LegitScript. We're partnered with them.

Like, this is the gold standard in certification, and we get to partner with them as far as the merchant can see. And they were like, it's a no brainer.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Yeah. So you got that approval from leadership to move forward, partnering with LegitScript. Then what was the actual experience like for you getting set up with this partnership and then, you know, the process of how you began working with merchants?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
It was great. Obviously, through the contract phase, everything went smoothly. We were able to get up and running pretty quickly. Our codes were deployed to us very quickly as well. So it was great because you start with all of your codes. So it's not like you use a code and you have to go to LegitScript and get another code. You have all of your codes right away. So if in one day you get four health care merchants that need legit script codes, you're ready to go.

And then at that point, once you give them the code, you walk them through the very simple process of, you know, going through the certification and using your code, it bumps them up. And at any moment, at any time, I can reach out to my LegitScript, contact and say, you know, where are these people in the queue? Where are these in the process? And there's a beautiful report that shows me where everybody is, if they're, you know, if they've contacted the merchant, if they're waiting on the merchant, if they're in the certification process.

And it's, for us, it's all about communication. Right? And the communication with LegitScript is incredible. Like, we rarely wait very long for any sort of a response, if at all, and that's what's been key. Because we're going out there on behalf of Mentum saying, you know, we're the experts here now too, and we've partnered with LegitScript. And so we need to look that way. It's not just a handoff. Right?

That's never what we wanted. Here's your code. Now you're with LegitScript. We wanted this to be a collaboration, and that's exactly what it is. So it's been a great experience.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Oh, good. And you touched upon this a little bit already. I'm just curious about the sort of, like, before and the after. You know, from your perspective, what has changed for your merchants and for your team since you've partnered with LegitScript?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
For our merchants, obviously, the speed to certification. You know? That's the hugest, benefit there. And for our team, what it's done is it's given us the confidence to go out and actually target telehealth merchants, which are great businesses for a merchant portfolio and say, listen.

Like, we have partnered with the top certification company. Trust us. And they do as they should, and they trust LegitScript. Right? And it just helps our team, like I said, with the confidence, but also we've been learning so much about the certification process and the health care space that we really are feeling so much more experts than we were before we partnered with LegitScript.

I mean, LegitScript's a wealth of knowledge. Any questions that we have regarding certain ingredients, the peptides that we all talk about, I mean, you guys are a wealth of knowledge, and we get to soak that all up because we partnered with you. And that's been huge for our team.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Angela, I'm curious from your side. You know, you're talking with folks who have not yet partnered with us, then you see the change afterward. From your perspective, what do you see change for partners at this stage?

Angela Salter (LegitScript)
Yeah. Great question. So, honestly, what I see changing is exactly what Alexis mentioned earlier. Partners are moving from reacting to planning. So a couple years ago, certification really felt like it came up as a surprise where a merchant would get flagged by a processor, a bank, or even an ad platform. Everyone would scramble in the merchant's business to figure out what was needed. The partners were handling those situations really one at a time as they came up or being told, hey. Come back and see us when you're ready to go.

And so a lot of these merchants felt like they were a little bit isolated. And so, now that expectation I see is showing up quite a bit earlier. So certification is becoming a part of onboarding rather than a fix after something gets delayed. So partners like Mentum Payments are getting involved in the planning with their merchants, sitting down and mapping out who needs that certification, how do we get ahead of it. It's a different conversation, and it's where a program like ours, I think, helps the most.

The second change definitely is speed and predictability. So health care merchants are launching fast. As we know, new areas like those GLP ones and the peptides keep shifting what's allowed, and partners can't wait around on an unclear process. They want a clear path, a known timeline, and a point of contact who can answer questions quickly, and be a good strong resource.

And then third, partners wanna be seen as part of the solution, and, frankly, they're being held accountable for the merchants they bring in. So they're looking for ways to show the market that they take compliance seriously, whether that's co-branded materials or events or announcements with us, even just the partnership in general. So that shift is definitely from one off referrals where they're sending merchants over on their own, which is completely fine. Merchants can do that, but it's really shifting to a real planned partnership. And the partners that get ahead of it are the ones whose merchants are ready before anyone asks.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Let's start to wrap things up here a little bit with, you know, talking about results. Ultimately, that's why folks get into a partnership with LegitScript. They want some... To see some tangible results. Angela, can you share some results that partners are seeing on average when they partner with LegitScript?

Angela Salter (LegitScript)
Yeah. I think there's a number of different things. First is, access to that point of contact that Alex has mentioned. Partners aren't left to figure this out alone. Get a dedicated person on the team, and that makes the flow itself over time get more quick, gets faster because that education has been shared and is implemented time and again. It sounds simple, but when a partner's waiting on an answer, it matters a lot that they've got a person that they can reach out to to ask those questions or get updates.

Second, definitely credibility and visibility in the market. So our certification is recognized as we know by Visa, Mastercard, and major ad brands. But partners are bringing these merchants to the table in an ecosystem that already trusts us and knows us. So through our partner marketing resources, we coordinate those joint materials and events so partners can tell that story. We can help them.

And then last but not least, this is one that partners, I think... And, Alexis, you could chime in, but I think they feel the most is that faster time to value. So applications submitted with a partner code get priority or expedited processing. So an assigned analyst gets working on that application much more quickly. The average applicant achieves certification in almost two weeks with 70 to 80% getting there in under four. So for a port... A partner, that means their merchants are live and processing and growing sooner. So put together, partners aren't just getting a faster certification. They're getting a team, a reputation, and a plan that makes the path to approval clearer, more predictable, and, frankly, more profitable in a faster way.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Yeah. And I'd love to hear from you, Alexis, of everything that's changed in this process. What result has mattered most to you?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
The obvious speed has mattered most, but I would say just below the speed because, like I said, that's an obvious benefit. Just anecdotally, we had a trade show a couple weeks ago. And at our trade show booth, we said we have partnered with LegitScript to support telehealth merchants. The amount of people who visited our booth because we had the LegitScript logo on our booth was exponential compared to if we did not have it.

Right? It drew people to us. Hey. How are you guys partnered with LegitScript? How are you able to use their logo on your booth? Because LegitScript is a big name in healthcare certification. And for us to be partnered, it's not just a vendor relationship. It really is truly a partnership, and we feel that as an organization. And LegitScript has helped us feel that with the co-branded materials, with, you know, the marketing that we've done together. I mean, we have people from LegitScript that will hop on calls with merchants with us. You know? I mean, they will help us every step along the way. Like I said, it's a true partnership, and that's the biggest result. Because when I went to ownership to say, listen. I believe we should partner with LegitScript, it felt different than bringing just another vendor to them. Right? And, ultimately, you know, that I believe that's what's made us all so successful. It's just this true partnership. And so I would say beneath the speed to the expedited certification, I would say that it's just the true partnership that is the biggest result and greatest benefit to our team.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
No. That's good to hear. Love to hear that. That's wonderful. You both laid out some really good, thoughtful reasons for partnering with LegitScript and the value of that.

As we wrap up here, any final thoughts from each of you? Angela, anything else before we wrap up?

Angela Salter (LegitScript)
Yeah. I think I'd like to share that if there's a merchant watching and they take one thing away from today, it's this. Don't wait until you're flagged or until you think that you need certification.

Too often, if a merchant finds out that they need it when a processor or a bank or an ad platform raises that question, By then, they're on the clock and revenue is on hold. So starting early changes that, and certification becomes a planned step in your launch, not an emergency. And the big takeaway, I think, I hope from today is you don't have to do it alone. Work with a partner who can bring you in if you'd like.

Use a referral code of theirs so your application gets that priority or expedited processing. You have a partner who knows the ropes as well, guiding you along the way. The average applicant is certified again in about two weeks, so getting ahead of it takes far less time than most merchants expect. Yeah.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Yeah. Alexis, anything else you wanna add?

Alexis Lichterman (Mentom Payments)
The one thing I would add is just, you know, take the certification seriously. This is an actual compliance certification that you're receiving. Learn along the way if you are the merchant. Listen to LegitScript and everything that they're teaching you, really, about compliance in this space. And this is something to be taken seriously, and, you know, that's ultimately why we partnered with LegitScript.

David Khalaf (LegitScript)
Wonderful. Well, Alexis, Angela, thank you both so much for your time today. For those of you watching, maybe you want to learn more about LegitScript certification and opportunities for partnering with us. We'd love to hear from you. You can reach out to us at legitscript.com/contact. Our team loves to chat to better understand your goals and see how we can help you achieve them. So reach out.

Again, we appreciate you watching today, and check out and stay tuned for another episode in this series coming soon. Take care, and have a great day.