President Joe Biden’s recent executive action pardoning all prior federal cannabis possession convictions garnered most of the headlines, but he also announced that he’d issued a directive to review marijuana classification as a Schedule I drug. Legally speaking, this designation puts cannabis on the same footing as cocaine and heroin; that is, dangerous substances with
The legal cannabis industry is going from strength to strength, but banking reform that will allow dispensaries to receive the same financial services used by every other business remains a distant dream. This has typically meant that cannabis retailers are stuck as cash-only operations, which is risky for the business and inconvenient for the customer.
Operating on a cash-only basis isn’t just inconvenient and risky for marijuana dispensaries, it is also an annoyance for many customers who don’t want to have to withdraw from an ATM every time they make a purchase. To overcome this, many cannabis retailers are adopting cashless payment alternatives from ACH bank transfers to point of
The governor of Pennsylvania signed a bill into law that contains provisions to shield banks and cannabis insurers from state interference for working with licensed medical cannabis businesses. The new legislation is the same as a standalone bill that had previously cleared the Senate before receiving approval in a key House committee. However, the measure’s
With marijuana banking reform still at an impasse on Capitol Hill, bipartisan House lawmakers introduced a new bill to expand access to financial services for cannabusinesses. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Troy Carter (D-LA) filed the Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act on June 23. Like the SAFE Banking Act, it would
Retailers across various industries have long seen the benefit of offering gift cards customers can use to make purchases. Whether conventional physical cards or digital ones, gift cards provide another sales option while increasing brand awareness and offering the possibility of using them in conjunction with customer retention and loyalty programs. Such benefits could be
Despite generating $17.5 billion in sales in 2020, marijuana businesses still largely operate on a cash basis due to federal cannabis prohibition. This represents a staggering 46 percent year-on-year increase, and it is widely expected to continue on this trajectory as more and more states move to reform their cannabis laws and open up to
In a now familiar move, the US House of Representatives voted for legislation containing provisions that would shield financial institutions servicing state-legal marijuana businesses from federal interference. The House-approved America COMPETES Act of 2022, which includes provisions of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, means the marijuana banking reform measure has now cleared
The federal prohibition of cannabis makes payment processing more complicated than in traditional retail industries. This is because financial service providers are reluctant to work with marijuana businesses, even in states where cannabis is legal, for fear of federal reprisals. The consequences of this for cannabis retailers are significant. Consumers generally prefer to pay by
