Payment processing, decoded for high-risk brands

Compliance-first guides on getting approved and staying live in research-use-only peptides and telehealth. Written by the team that processes for them.

Start Here

Research-Use-Only Peptide Payment Processing: The Complete Guide
The complete guide to peptide payment processing for RUO brands: why it is high-risk, what compliance wins you approval, and how to stay live.
Telehealth Payment Processing: The Complete Compliance Guide
How telehealth and wellness brands accept cards, handle Rx and subscription nuances, pass LegitScript, and choose a processor built to survive scrutiny.

Compliance

Age Gates, Disclaimers, and the RUO Shield
The on-site age gate, research-use acknowledgement, and disclaimers that prove good-faith RUO compliance to a payment processor.
How to Stay Off the MATCH List (Terminated Merchant File)
What the MATCH list is, the reason codes that land you there, what it does to processing everywhere, and how to stay off it.
Chargeback Management for High-Risk Peptide Merchants
How chargebacks shut down RUO peptide accounts, the thresholds that matter, and the prevention playbook that keeps you processing.
'FTC and FDA Risk: Where Peptide Marketing Crosses the Line'
How peptide marketing claims turn an RUO product into an unapproved drug, why that triggers processor termination, and how to market compliantly.
KYC and Underwriting for Peptide Brands: What Gets Checked
What peptide merchant underwriting actually reviews: entity, ownership, site, product, and history. How to prepare and why Stripe-handled KYC stays light.
Choosing the Right MCC for Research Chemicals (Honestly)
What an MCC is, which codes fit RUO research-chemical merchants, and why honest, accurate coding keeps a peptide account alive long-term.
The Peptide Website Compliance Checklist Processors Actually Use
The exact peptide website compliance checklist underwriting reviews before approving card processing: age gate, RUO disclaimers, labeling, and more.
Rolling Reserves Explained: Why 5-10% Protects Your Business
What a rolling reserve is, why high-risk processing requires one, and how a fair 5-10% held about 60 days keeps your peptide or telehealth rail stable.
Why Research-Use-Only Labeling Is the Foundation of Peptide Payment Approval
Research-use-only labeling is what earns peptide brands card processing. Here is the 21 CFR framing, what kills the RUO shield, and how to keep it clean.
What Stripe's Policy Actually Says About Research Peptides
Where RUO peptides really sit in Stripe's policy, why age gates and RUO labeling decide your fate, and how a Connect platform keeps you compliant.

Processing & Operations

Crypto and Stablecoin Settlement for High-Risk Merchants
How stablecoin settlement complements card rails for RUO peptide and telehealth brands: when it helps, how it works, and why optionality lowers risk.
Your Payments Got Frozen: A Recovery Playbook
A recovery playbook for when a processor freezes your funds or terminates your account: document, communicate, manage the reserve, migrate.
Migrating Off a Failing Processor Without Losing Revenue
Switch a high-risk processor with minimal downtime: parallel onboarding, descriptor and subscription continuity, and clean customer comms.
Settlement, Payouts, and Cash Flow for High-Risk Merchants
How payout timing, settlement cycles, and rolling reserves move money from sale to bank, and how to plan working capital around a high-risk account.
How Stripe Connect Powers Compliant Peptide Processing
How a Stripe Connect platform with operating history gives RUO peptide and telehealth brands a more durable, harder-to-shut-off way to process cards.
Why Peptide Brands Get Shut Off (and How to Avoid It)
The actual reasons processors terminate RUO peptide merchants: policy, claims, chargebacks, undisclosed products, aggregator risk. Plus how to prevent it.

Telehealth

Payment Processing for Incretin (GLP-1) Telehealth Brands
Why incretin (GLP-1) telehealth is gray-zone for card processors, and the LegitScript, Rx-workflow, and claims discipline that keeps the account live.
LegitScript Certification and Telehealth Payments
What LegitScript certification is, why processors require it for telehealth and pharmacy, how to get it, and how it secures stable card processing.
Subscription and Recurring Billing Compliance for Telehealth
Telehealth recurring-billing rules: clear consent, easy cancellation, honest descriptors, and smart dunning to prevent disputes and keep accounts stable.

Choosing a Processor

How to Choose a Payment Processor for Peptide and Telehealth Brands
A buyer guide to choosing a high-risk processor for RUO peptide and telehealth brands: the criteria that matter, the red flags that get you shut off.

From the Founder

Field Notes from the Founder: Hard-Won Lessons in High-Risk Payments
A founder's notes on getting banked in hated verticals, why good merchants get shut off, and building a compliance-first payment rail.