One industry study was able to demonstrate that adopting a digital payment system would decrease overhead costs between 4.7% and 15.3%, which in most cases, more than covers the costs of going digital. But, as is with many misconceptions, this logic is unfounded according to the available data on modern digital processing options. Moreover, these fees are passed along to the customers with considerable push back. Payment processing fees are anything but stable in the industry ranging from a few points (2.5%) to 20 points (20%). The first being that digital payment options come with increased costs and secondly, that digital platforms will not be well received by their customers. There are two major factors that prohibit companies from going digital. Interestingly, there is a desperate need for modern banking and payment processes for this emerging market to match the consumer, regulatory and merchant demands. Sadly, due to dishonest, but common, digital payment practices (aforementioned), cannabis industry professionals have been stuck in the “wild west” of commerce, using “here today, gone tomorrow” solutions, and now suffer from digital payment PTSD. Some of these advantages include safety, security, bankability of funds, and merchant services products like payroll processing, tax payments, and bill payments, not to mention the rich feature set of a fully digital consumer services platform. Many advantages exist for the merchant to adopt a digital due diligence platform and payment method, as means to move forward with compliant and legal cannabis transactions. Therefore, the banking industry, as well as the payment card industry, have largely abandoned cannabis operators.
Financial institutions have dealt with intense scrutiny and are unwilling to risk seizure of their assets to federal audits and raids.
MARIJUANA DISPENSARY CREDIT CARD TERMINAL FULL
Cannabis continues to be a cash rich industry full of anonymous customer activity, making it immensely burdensome to track and trace the customers in the way federal requirements mandate. Unfortunately, these attempts were in vain. These rules were created to limit bad actors from money laundering but also to prevent finances from reaching the hands of terrorist groups. However, the complex web of federal rules concerning due diligence aspects such as Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML), Financial Crime Enforcement Network Reporting (FinCEN), and Customer Identification Programs (CIP) are largely being ignored by most in the cannabis space. The Patriot Act of 2001 put in place due diligence policies requiring financial institutions (as well as Money Transmitters, Money Services Businesses, and Merchant Payment Processors) to not only know their customer, but also know their customers' customers.
Financial institutions have also largely stayed away from businesses that provide cannabis services in any form due to fear of federal regulators.
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