When payment processors come knocking, research-use-only merchants have traditionally scrambled to prove they’re selling responsibly. A new tool from the founders of Digital Hype Media aims to change that by baking compliance directly into the checkout flow.
Claddr, launched today by the San Diego-based team, introduces a four-step checkout verification process that qualifies buyers, captures signed research-use attestations, validates order requirements, and integrates with merchants’ existing Stripe accounts. The company says it’s designed specifically for merchants selling research-use-only compounds like research peptides to qualified business and research buyers.
Rather than replacing a merchant’s storefront or payment setup, Claddr adds a compliance layer around the existing checkout. Merchants keep their own storefront, their own Stripe account, and their normal Stripe payouts. Claddr adds the controls and the proof around the checkout.
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Claddr’s automated compliance monitoring dashboard scans research-use storefronts weekly, identifying potentially risky product claims, missing disclaimers, and content inconsistencies with actionable recommendations.
Claddr has every buyer confirm they are a qualified research buyer before payment and keeps a tamper-evident record of each order
Merchants in this space want to sell the right way, to the right buyers. Claddr turns that intent into a record they can actually show”— Timothy Sykes
SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The team behind Digital Hype Media today launched Claddr, compliance software for online merchants that sell research-use-only compounds to qualified business and research buyers. Claddr runs buyer checks at checkout, records a signed research-use statement on every order, and writes each step to an audit record the merchant can export when their payment processor asks.
The core problem Claddr solves is fragmentation. When a processor reviews a research-use-only merchant, the first question is how the store keeps the wrong buyers out. Most merchants can only point to a checkbox at checkout, with the rest of their evidence spread across order notes, emails and spreadsheets. Claddr makes that proof part of the payment itself: the checks run at checkout, and the record builds as the merchant sells.
Here’s how the system works in practice:
– Buyer checks before payment. Before checkout opens, each buyer answers the questions in the merchant’s compliance profile: who they are, what kind of buyer they are and where they are.
– A signed research-use statement on every order. Statements are versioned, so every signature points to the exact wording the buyer saw.
– Holds for risky orders. Orders that match the merchant’s rules are authorized but not captured until a reviewer on their team approves them.
– A tamper-evident audit record. Every buyer check, signature and payment is chained to the entry before it, so any change after the fact breaks the chain.
– A weekly storefront scan. Claddr checks product pages, policies and checkout copy for claims and missing disclaimers, and shows the exact line with a suggested fix.
– One export for a review. A merchant picks a date range and sends a PDF summary of their controls plus a CSV of every entry with its hash.
Payments run on the merchant’s own connected Stripe account. Claddr never holds funds. Claddr installs on WooCommerce stores, and merchants connect Stripe by signing in, with no API keys to copy.
The company behind Claddr has deep roots in the e-commerce space. Claddr was developed by the team behind Digital Hype Media, a leading San Diego-based digital marketing and technology agency. Working with online merchants, the team kept seeing the same gap: stores in regulated categories had good standards and real buyers, but no clean way to prove how they sold. Claddr is their answer to that gap.
“Merchants in this space want to sell the right way, to the right buyers. Claddr turns that intent into a record they can actually show,” said Timothy Sykes, CEO of Claddr. “Through Digital Hype Media we’ve worked with online merchants for years, and we’ve seen how quickly one processor review can stall a business. We built Claddr so the evidence already exists when that question comes.”
“Every buyer check, signature and payment in Claddr is chained to the entry before it, so the record can’t be quietly changed after the fact,” said Muhammad Farhan Khan, CTO of Claddr. “When a processor asks how a store sells, the merchant sends one export instead of digging through inboxes and spreadsheets.”
Claddr 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. 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.
Claddr is compliance software, not a bank, payment processor or law firm. Payments are processed by Stripe on the merchant’s own connected account, and Claddr never holds funds. Eligibility and approval decisions are made by Stripe and the card networks; Claddr does not guarantee approval. Claddr is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stripe, Inc.
Why it matters: For merchants in regulated research-use categories, a single payment processor review can halt operations indefinitely. By making audit-ready compliance a built-in feature of the checkout process rather than a manual afterthought, Claddr could reshape how these businesses prove they’re selling responsibly—and potentially keep more of them online.
Timothy Sykes
Digital Hype Media
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