It is 2023, and Canada has nearly gone cash free across the board. It is rare for stores, restaurants, or other locations to offer customers cash payment options. This trend started before the pandemic, but it has become the norm since then. Unfortunately, because of regulations, it has taken a while for adoption in the Cannabis industry, mainly at medical or recreational dispensaries. In 2023, that has been turned on its head, and all dispensaries can now start offering debit card payment options via Interac to their customers and patients. So, are you offering your customers cashless and touchless payment options? If not, learn how you can start and the benefits.
Processing Fees are No Longer Higher than Traditional Businesses
Cannabis Debit Card Processing Specialist
For many years, the main barrier to entry for Cannabis dispensaries to accepting card purchases was the high processing fees and per transaction costs that merchant services and banks were levied against them. It was higher than fees for alcohol or gambling, which held back the entire industry’s growth. But as more information became available and research studies began to complete and release their findings, the value and benefits of Marijuana consumption became more prevalent for all to see.
Since the early days over ten years ago, a lot has changed. Initially, dispensaries were labeled “high-risk,” being looked at no differently than pornography, tobacco, or casino businesses. We know that to be ridiculous today, but that was the case before full legalization. Dispensaries would be required to put up substantial cash reserves and sometimes had to pay up to 10% per transaction in fees just to operate. So, the industry pushed cash-only sales for many years. Finally, dispensaries are no longer considered “high-risk” and now have costs no different than a restaurant or department store.
Cash is Out of Vogue and an Outdated Payment Method
Cash has always been filthy. Whenever a study tests what sort of bacteria and substances are on most circulating physical currency, it can make you squeamish. From things like E-coli to cocaine, cash is a biohazard waiting to get people sick. It’s no mystery it was getting fazed out, and since the pandemic, that has accelerated. It is rare for Canadians to carry any cash because nearly all businesses now offer card payments, either via credit or debit cards.
To dispensary owners, cash posed different risks than simple hygiene. Because cash has to be physically moved and accounted for, bookkeeping is far more difficult as you have physical cash to deal with, including coins, and there is a danger when transporting the cash sums to the bank for deposit. There were too many stories to recount of dispensary owners or personnel being robbed at gunpoint for the cash they would deposit. Many had to hire armed security guards to pick up and transport the large cash sums to prevent theft. This adds cost and creates a climate of fear for workers that isn’t acceptable in any business environment.
Eliminate cash and eliminate the risk of being robbed for cash on hand. There is no cash on hand with digital transactions, so everyone is safer across the board.
Finding the Right Cannabis Dispensary Merchant Service
In Canada, with so many dispensaries in operation, there are a lot of choices to consider when looking at debit card processing services. But many of these are large multinational corporations, some owned in the USA, not even in Canada. This can make you feel like nothing more than an account number if you need to call and get support, which is now what the Cannabis industry has been about: relationships.
Brother Processing has been a Cannabis Debit Card Processing Specialist for nearly a decade and has pioneered the movement toward digital transactions in the space. Give us a call today, and let’s discuss your processing needs. We’ll provide the following:
- The touchless card readers.
- Banking direct deposit.
- Bookkeeping to help you keep up to date and modernize your payment system at your dispensary or Cannabis related store.
We work closely with our clients and are a family-owned operation. You speak with us directly, so please give us a call, and let’s get started.
1-800-891-8965
