Important Things To Know About Credit Card Processing For Dispensaries

Many marijuana users are delighted to find that they can purchase a broad range of CBD and THC-containing marijuana products, both in-person and online. As this substance becomes legal in many states across the nation, accessibility is greatly increased. Unfortunately, however, state level legalization does not eliminate many of the challenges that actual suppliers face. Following are some important facts that business owners within the medical marijuana industry should know about credit card processing for dispensaries.

It is first important to note that being legal at the state level does not allow business owners to avoid all potential, federal penalties. Laws at the local level do grant these businesses a certain amount of sovereignty. Moreover, most states that have decriminalized pot are willing to stand staunchly behind the often very high profit businesses that have risen to the occasion. After all, most states in which marijuana is legal are making veritable fortunes themselves in tax revenues.

Due to the federal laws against these business activities, however, there are a number of third-party services and solutions that many dispensaries simply cannot access. Third-party companies do not have the same state-level protections. Moreover, they are also unable to take on the amount of risk that this industry entails. Not only could this be harmful to their bottom lines, but it can also make them non-compliant with many of insurance agreements that they have entered. Lucid Leverage Financial and our partners in the banking industry here in the United States are proud to offer merchant services to the medical marijuana industry at the lowest possible cost.

There are other high-risk businesses that find themselves in a similar position, albeit with far fewer limitations and restrictions. For instance, firearms sellers or those who sell hunting weapons are considered to be high-risk businesses in this respect. Accordingly, their credit card processing services cost more and these services are also a bit more difficult to find. For dispensaries, however, even extra fees may not make standard processing services accessible or reliable.

What businesses within this field can do, however, is take advantage of special merchant services for dispensaries. These solutions are designed to function a lot like typical credit card processing in the eyes of the consumer. For people who use these businesses, they can simply ring up their sales, swipe their cards, and then go on about their day.

Behind the scenes is where the magic happens. Rather than being collected directly by the service provider, however, these funds are processed by a merchant account. Moreover, this merchant account is typically offshore. This is because offshore banking institutions tend to enjoy total sovereignty. The only catch is that suppliers or the typical dispensary must pay two sets of third-party fees. This includes one to the original service provider, and one to the offshore bank that is actually collecting and processing the payments. Lucid Leverage Financial is based in Tempe, Arizona near ASU. We do not use offshore accounts for credit card processing. All of our merchant services and financial support is based in the United States of America. Lucid Leverage Financial is unique because all of our banking relationships are in the USA.

Another vital thing to understand is that many major credit cards are not willing to have their brands associated with this industry just yet. Being able to set up and maintain a viable system on a long-term fashion is still a dubious business overall. This will remain the case until these products have been legalized at a federal level. Once this happens, large and reputable brands will be able to take on the risk of working with and supporting dispensary-type businesses.

As an alternative solution to credit cards, some business owners are using their offshore merchant accounts to allow their customers to pay with e-checks. These make it possible for consumers to complete purchases online, and with the same level of security that a typical transaction would supply. Services like these are significantly cheaper and much more reliable overall, given that business owners will be dealing with offshore banks that do not mind the extra risk and that are willing to diligently protect their confidential financial information.