Make your website Paddle-ready before you apply.
Audit legal clarity, pricing transparency, and platform restrictions across 15+ payment processors in 60 seconds.
Authored by CheckoutReady Compliance Engineering Team · Built on Visa, Mastercard, & Underwriting Manuals
Audits rules and underwriting signals across major processors
How It Works
A 60-second health check for your checkout setup.
Prevent weeks of back-and-forth rejection emails with a proactive 3-step check.
CheckoutReady is an automated payment compliance engine that audits public SaaS and digital storefronts against card network rules (Visa and Mastercard) and processor underwriting criteria before merchant onboarding.
Evidence-Backed Audit
Real code quotes, not vague scores.
Every audit result cites the exact sentence on your site that may cause friction with underwriters.
Regulatory Standards & Scheme Mandates
Governing Rules Behind Payment Underwriting
Merchant approval decisions are governed by card scheme mandates and processor service agreements.
“A merchant must clearly disclose refund, return, and cancellation policies on its website prior to transaction submission.”
“Merchants offering trial periods converting to recurring subscriptions must provide explicit price disclosure and online cancellation.”
“You must maintain a fair return, refund, and cancellation policy and make the terms readily accessible to your customers.”
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Paddle onboarding hurdles, domain verification rules, and underwriting expectations.
Why did Paddle reject my application saying 'Paddle only approves subscriptions or digital goods—not consulting services'?
Paddle underwriters manually inspect applicant websites. If your site lists hourly consulting, agency custom development, or hybrid professional services, underwriters will classify the entire business as non-software consulting. To resolve this, remove all agency/consulting copy, reframe your site strictly around self-service software tiers, and provide automated user provisioning flows.
What exact refund policy wording does Paddle's underwriting team require?
Paddle rejects refund policies with discretionary denial clauses (such as 'refunds granted at our sole discretion') or policies that tie return rights strictly to internal server usage. Paddle requires a clear, unambiguous money-back guarantee window (e.g. 14-day or 30-day), clear instructions for requesting a refund, and a guaranteed 48-hour response SLA.
Why was my domain verification rejected when terms were on the main domain but the app runs on a subdomain?
When checkout occurs on a subdomain (such as app.domain.com or billing.domain.com), underwriters must verify that the checkout container links directly to live legal policies. Unlinked or gated billing subdomains fail domain verification. Ensure consistent footer links and design across both your root marketing site and authenticated app subdomains.
Can I sell generative AI image or voice tools through Paddle?
Paddle strictly restricts generative image, face-swapping, and voice-cloning tools due to card network non-consensual content and likeness infringement liabilities. If building generative AI products, you must implement automated content moderation guardrails (e.g. AWS Rekognition) or consider alternative MoRs like Polar.sh or Creem that support AI utilities.
How do I overturn a Paddle rejection for an embedded or private B2B SaaS?
Submit an appeal containing an unlisted 5-minute Loom video walkthrough demonstrating the full user lifecycle: signup, in-app execution, and direct value delivery. Clarify your domain architecture and cite approved partner vendors or direct competitors operating identical software models on Paddle to reduce underwriter uncertainty.
Get your website ready for payments today.
Scan your site for compliance gaps or find your ideal payment processor in under 60 seconds.