Entrepreneurship is flourishing in America. But too many American entrepreneurs are being impeded by archaic federal prohibitions on marijuana and other cannabis products.
It is a well-documented fact that marijuana growers and dispensary operators, while operating legally under state law, are shunned by banks and payment processing companies because working with these entrepreneurs could draw the ire of federal regulators and payment networks like Mastercard and Visa.
It’s not just marijuana growers and marijuana dispensaries that are being denied access to mainstream financial services like accepting card payments. All too often companies that provide ancillary products and services (like scientific equipment used to test cannabis products) are considered guilty by association. Worse, some companies that have long accepted credit cards for sales of products and services to more traditional businesses are getting booted by payment processors when they start accepting cards for sales to customers engaged in state-sanctioned cannabis businesses.
Recently, we heard from one such company. It sells testing equipment to laboratories and had been accepting credit card payments from customers for nearly 20 years. But the company got the boot from its payment processor after adding a link to its website directing visitors to cannabis testing resources. States that have legalized cannabis sales impose strict quality controls on these products; compliance with these controls necessitates sophisticated testing equipment. This company saw an opportunity to expand its market presence by selling to cannabis testing labs, but its efforts were being thwarted by its payment processing company.
Companies selling equipment to cannabis testing labs have no direct contact with cannabis products. Yet most payment processing companies presume they are guilty by association because the equipment they sell can be used by cannabis testing labs.
Paybotic isn’t like most payment processing companies. We have policies, procedures and partnerships in place that allow us to offer card acceptance services to businesses selling cannabis products, and the companies that support those businesses with ancillary products and services. Our solutions are tailored to individual client needs, and use domestic networks to support the clearing and settlement of card and mobile payments.
Every business deserves fair and equitable access to modern financial services, like payment acceptance services. No business should be denied access to payment networks just because the products they sell might be purchased by companies engaged in state-sanctioned cannabis businesses. That’s why Paybotic is committed to working with companies throughout the cannabis value chain to support fair and equitable access to modern methods of payments.
