Claddr launches audit-ready payment compliance for research-use-only merchants

The Digital Hype Media team has launched Claddr, a compliance layer for U.S. merchants selling research-use-only products like peptides. The software adds buyer verification, signed statements and tamper-evident audit logs around checkout to help merchants answer payment processor reviews faster.

Why it matters: - Research-use-only merchants often face payment reviews with incomplete proof of who bought what and why. - Claddr is designed to keep that evidence inside the checkout flow, so merchants can show controls without piecing together emails, spreadsheets and order notes. - The software is built to help merchants keep their Stripe processing while adding compliance records around the sale.

What happened: - The team behind Digital Hype Media launched Claddr, compliance software for online merchants that sell research-use-only compounds to qualified business and research buyers. - The product is available now to research-use-only merchants in the United States. - Merchants apply at claddr.com/apply, and each application is reviewed before a workspace is set up. - Claddr is a product of Phase Group Ventures LLC and is built by the team behind Digital Hype Media.

The details: - Claddr requires each buyer to confirm they are a qualified research buyer before payment. - The checkout flow asks buyers who they are, what kind of buyer they are and where they are. - Claddr records a signed research-use statement on every order. - The signed statements are versioned, so each signature is tied to the exact wording the buyer saw. - Orders that match a merchant’s risk rules can be authorized but not captured until a reviewer approves them. - Claddr creates a tamper-evident audit record that chains each buyer check, signature and payment to the entry before it. - The merchant can export one review package with a PDF summary of controls and a CSV of every entry with its hash. - Claddr also scans storefront pages weekly for claims and missing disclaimers, then shows the exact line with a suggested fix. - The software installs on WooCommerce stores. - Merchants connect Stripe by signing in, with no API keys to copy. - Payments run on the merchant’s own connected Stripe account, and Claddr never holds funds. - Pricing is one plan with no setup fee: $500 a month per site plus a transaction fee on successful charges. - The monthly fee starts when the site goes live.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader gap in regulated e-commerce: merchants may have real customers and internal standards, but not a clean audit trail a processor can review quickly. - Claddr is framed as a workflow and evidence layer, not a replacement for the merchant’s storefront or payment account. - The company’s pitch is that a processor review should require one export, not a hunt through inboxes and spreadsheets.

What's next: - Claddr says it will onboard approved U.S. merchants after application review. - The company is positioning the product for merchants that want to sell research-use-only products while keeping their existing storefront and Stripe setup. - More information is available on the company’s site and social channels, including the company’s Instagram.

The bottom line: - Claddr is betting that compliance tools that sit inside checkout can make processor reviews faster, cleaner and easier to document for research-use-only sellers.