Peptide operator onboarding checklist for 2026

Peptide operators get closed not because they're doing anything illegal but because they onboard in the wrong order. The processor application is the last step, not the first. Here's the sequenced checklist we'd run if we were launching a new peptide brand from zero in 2026.

1. Entity and banking

LLC formed in Wyoming or Delaware (not your home state if home state has aggressive consumer protection). Separate EIN. Business bank account with a bank that knows the high-risk vertical (Relay, Mercury for initial ops; Chase or BoA for eventual scale once processing is stable). Do not commingle a peptide brand with a supplement brand in the same entity unless you want both taken down by one audit.

2. Trademark and brand name

TM application for the brand name. Avoid names that imply therapeutic effect ("CureLabs", "HealPeptides"). Avoid names that phonetically match scheduled compounds. The TM search also surfaces conflicting marks that would bite you in year two.

3. Domain, DNS, email

Domain registered via Cloudflare or Namecheap. DNS on Cloudflare. Email via Google Workspace with SPF/DKIM/DMARC configured before any send. Transactional email via Brevo or Postmark, not Gmail SMTP. Your deliverability in year one is set in the first 90 days — see operational reliability patterns.

4. Site build

WooCommerce or custom. Research-use framing throughout. No human-consumption dosing language anywhere. Age gate on site entry. Clear "not for human consumption" disclaimer on every product page. FAQ and shipping policy published. Refund policy published with specific terms. Contact page with real phone and physical address.

5. Product pages

Each SKU: COA prominently linked, purity spec, storage instructions, shipping temperature requirements, "research use only" disclaimer, no dosing, no therapeutic claims, no comparison to approved pharmaceuticals. Photos of vial and label, not lifestyle imagery suggesting consumption.

6. Compliance pages

Terms of Service, Privacy Policy (state-specific: CCPA, CPRA, Virginia CDPA), Shipping Policy, Refund Policy, Research Use Agreement, FDA Disclaimer, COA Library. These pages have to exist before processor application — underwriting checks for them.

7. Fulfillment

3PL selected with peptide handling experience. Cold chain if needed. Shipping labels that don't name the product category on the outside (generic "research materials" or company name only). Insurance on shipments. Delivery confirmation mandatory. Signature required on orders above a threshold.

8. Customer service stack

Help desk (Gorgias, Help Scout). Response time target under 8 business hours. Templates for common questions including chargeback prevention scripts. Phone line with voicemail during business hours. A real CS team kills chargebacks before they hit the processor.

9. Fraud tooling

Before first real transaction: Radar rules drafted (if going single-MID Stripe route — don't, for peptides), or Signifyd/Sift configured on your orchestration layer. 3DS step-up rules on first-order charges above $150. IP velocity blocks.

10. Processor application

Now, not earlier. Apply to 2-3 peptide-friendly ISOs in parallel: EasyPayDirect, Durango, Corepay. Do not apply to Stripe, Square, Shopify Payments, PayPal — automatic decline and flag on your EIN. See best peptide processors.

11. Processing policy setup

Descriptor readable and matching brand. Chargeback management service activated. Refund policy visible at checkout. Email receipt includes descriptor, support number, refund window. Recurring billing (if any) with explicit opt-in and visible cancel path.

12. Test transactions

First 10 transactions are manual — friends and family cards, logged. Confirm each one posts with the right descriptor. Confirm refund flow works. Confirm chargeback arrives at the right queue. Do not scale traffic before these 10 transactions close cleanly.

13. Initial marketing

Organic first. SEO-friendly product pages (see peptide playbook). Minimal paid traffic in the first 90 days — ad platforms will quietly shadowban research chemical categories and drive your CAC up, then the affiliates you buy will drive chargebacks before your processor is stable.

14. Reporting and reconciliation

Ledger (Xero or QBO) with monthly reconciliation against processor statements from day one. Dispute tracker. Refund log. Never let the first 60 days of processing history go un-reconciled — your year-one rate is set on that data.

15. Scale-readiness triggers

At month 3: if clean processing, begin rate negotiation. At month 6: apply for reserve reduction. At month 9-12: evaluate moving to multi-brand structure if you're adding SKU lines that look like separate brands. See add vs deepen.

16. When to call us

If you're onboarding brand 3 or later, the single-MID route stops being efficient. The overhead of N applications, N reconciliations, N chargeback queues, and N descriptor fights is where multi-brand orchestration pays back. Look at pricing or submit an application.

What operators skip and regret

• Skipping the age gate and then losing the first affiliate-driven chargebacks
• Using therapeutic language on a product page because it converts — then getting closed at month 4
• Applying to Stripe "just to see" and getting the EIN flagged across ISOs
• Scaling ads in month 1 before the processor is stable
• Using a supplement brand's entity to launch a peptide line — cross-contamination audit risk