“Many companies would love to be the Venmo or PayPal of cannabis. But there’s a long way to go.  Cash is still the go-to option in the U.S. since marijuana is federally illegal. Tepid progress toward legislation shows that is unlikely to change anytime soon. At the same time, the most popular payment alternative, so-called cashless ATMs, are problematic.”

“Bloomberg News Reporter Tiffany Kary explains how banking and cannabis businesses are being misled by cashless ATM withdrawals.”

“Visa, the world’s second-largest card payment company, recently issued a compliance memo to customers warning them that miscoding point-of-sale transactions through the use of so-called cashless ATMs—a practice used by some cannabis retailers as a workaround to accept credit or debit cards for purchases—could lead to penalties or other unspecified enforcement action. The warning comes as congressional lawmakers grapple with how to handle marijuana business banking. The House passed a defense bill in September with language that would have protected banks that work with state-legal cannabis companies , but after talks with the Senate, those provisions were not attached to a new bicameral deal filed Tuesday .”

“Valley National Bank , a subsidiary of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY), announced today that it is creating a new digital payment platform designed specifically for cannabis-related businesses. Valley Pay, Valley’s new digital payment solution, will migrate cash usage to a secure, web application, easing the burden on cannabis operators who are reliant on cash transactions today. The cannabis industry remains heavily reliant on cash transactions to conduct business as major debit and credit cards are not accepted.”

“California’s North Bay Credit Union partnered with Austin Capital Trust Company and Silicon Valley FinTech MRBD to create the Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) HigherGrowth, the Credit Union Times reported. The new CUSO, which has been in development for more than two years, will enable credit unions and community banks to provide financial services to cannabis companies without those firms having to meet strict federal and state compliance requirements to have a commercial bank account, the report said.”

“Cannabis companies such as Dreamfields are caught in a gap between state and federal law. Despite California making weed legal for recreational use in 2016, the federal government still classifies marijuana as an illegal substance. With top US banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo and payments companies including Visa and Mastercard adhering to federal law, they have opted out of serving cannabis companies. But now three years later, Garrambone says Dreamfields is doing almost all of its transactions electronically, taking out loans and making deposits.”

“Eaze this week announced significant plans to expand into one of the U.S.’s largest cannabis delivery services. One of the original on-demand cannabis delivery services, the Bay Area-based company is set to acquire cannabis retailer and cultivator Green Dragon, which operates in the hot markets of Colorado and Florida. Combined with existing operations in California and Michigan, the deal would find Eaze operating in America’s four largest cannabis markets.”

“Spence Labs, a bank-backed, compliant digital payment system for the cannabis industry, today announced a full POS integration with BLAZE®, the industry-leading enterprise resource planning and point of sale (POS) platform for legal cannabis. This partnership is a game changer for both dispensaries and customers, who have for far too long relied on cash transactions. Now consumers who order online or in the store can pay in a compliant digital way.”

“RocketFuel (OTC: RKFL) (“RocketFuel” or the “Company”), a global provider of one-click online payment options using Bitcoin and 50+ other cryptocurrencies, today announced that it will be making its payment solution available to be used by licensed cannabis dispensaries and merchants. Integrating RocketFuel into the merchant’s payment checkout will ensure that, unlike the typical cash transactions which come with security and logistical problems, merchants can accept crypto payments from users who have cryptocurrencies in a private wallet or in certain crypto exchange accounts. This service will even cover online delivery orders if they fall under permissible local regulations. RocketFuel will be compliant with FinCEN guidance on providing financial services to the cannabis industry.”

“When Democrats took control of the White House and Congress in January, the conventional thinking was that they would move quickly to pass pot banking reform. But Democrats’ broader legalization efforts have turned the issue on its head. Experts said lawmakers themselves know that sweeping marijuana reform will not pass.”

“Apple will no longer prohibit marijuana delivery services from being hosted on its App Store—one of the latest pro-cannabis developments to come out of the tech industry. The policy was updated last month to remove the ban, with some restrictions. A marijuana app must be geo-restricted to jurisdictions where cannabis is legal, and the program must be “submitted by a legal entity that provides the services, and not by an individual developer.””

“The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation that would allow banks to provide services to cannabis companies in states where it is legal, a step towards removing what analysts say is a barrier to development of a national industry. Lawmakers voted 321-101 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate. The bill clarifies that proceeds from legitimate cannabis businesses would not be considered illegal and directs federal regulators to craft rules for how they would supervise such banking activity.”

“Merrco, the payment processing leader for the cannabis industry, today announced that it has launched in the United States for CBD and cannabis ancillary business payment processing, ahead of legislative changes that would enable Merrco to provide payment processing for U.S. cannabis dispensaries and delivery services.”

“A small credit union in Michigan was recently penalized in what’s thought to be the first example of U.S. regulators publicly calling out a financial institution for compliance failures involving the cannabis industry. Under the enforcement action, Live Life Federal Credit Union must stop opening new marijuana-related accounts, and it has to file missing suspicious activity reports. The National Credit Union Administration is also requiring the Fraser, Mich., institution to implement an automated transaction monitoring system by April 30.”

“A group of Senators is pushing for federal cannabis legalization this year, which would open the market for mainstream payment providers — and bring heavy competition to the payment companies that pioneered this space. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sens Cory Booker (D-N.J) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) promised to release a discussion draft on reform that would end the federal ban and would introduce legislation that would address taxes and regulations.”

“Blackbird, a cannabis software and delivery company, and AeroPay , a leading financial technology company that provides payment processing solutions to the cannabis industry, announced a strategic partnership to bring cashless payments to cannabis businesses for online ordering. The partnership includes an integration of AeroPay’s payments platform into Blackbird’s white-labeled dispensary menus and the BlackbirdGo cannabis marketplace. The two companies also have plans to bring greater efficiencies to other parts of the cannabis supply chain such as physical retail and B2B.”

“ICICI Bank Canada today announced the launch of a debit card. Named, ‘ICICI Bank Canada Visa Debit Card’, it offers customers an unparalleled benefit of online shopping, purchasing at millions of retail outlets across the world and making quick contactless payments at Point of Sale (PoS) machines across Canada. This card also empowers customers to withdraw cash from thousands of Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) in the country without surcharge#.”

“Like the majority of companies in the CBD product sales business, Casco Bay Hemp lost their credit card processing capabilities 4 months ago. The majority of businesses were using Elavon, who unfortunately stopped all hemp processing, leaving everyone in the lurch.  Starting September 1st, 2019 Casco Bay Hemp was accepted into the pilot program for Square’s CBD/Hemp division, a quietly launched invite only beta testing program. Square has been closely watching the evolving public policies while continually striving to create new opportunities for clients. For every CBD business in the market, this is much needed and exciting News.”

“In a letter to Congress, the governors advocated for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act , or similar legislation, to remove legal uncertainty for banks and credit unions seeking to provide marijuana financing. As previously noted , the SAFE Banking Act creates protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and to service providers for such businesses. According to the governors’ letter, without the services of banks to help manage the businesses, the cannabis industry is forced to rely on cash to transact legal cannabis business, which poses an additional burden on state and local agencies, as well as an employee safety risk.”

“Columbia Care, a multistate operator in the medical cannabis industry, has launched a national credit programme across the US. The Columbia National Credit programme (CNC Card) enables the company capable of accepting a credit card for cannabis purchases. The launch follows a pilot in New York in the second half of last year.”

“Hypur, Inc. announced that its reliable and secure electronic payment solution is now available for state legal marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) throughout the United States. Through its compliance technology, point-of-sale integrations, and payment solutions capabilities, Hypur provides complete transparency to the cannabis payments process. Hypur enables consumers to purchase products from their local dispensaries while also allowing MRBs to process business-to-business (B2B) payments.”