It’s no secret that legal cannabis is a fast-growing industry. Market analysts now believe the legal cannabis sector could be worth more than $111.31 billion before 2030. If more countries ease their stance on cannabis, this industry might be even more valuable.
Understandably, many entrepreneurs want to get in on this “green rush” before the cannabis market gets too saturated. While first movers have a clear advantage, they also face a trickier legal landscape. Although more states are willing to allow dispensaries to set up shop, that doesn’t change the fact that DC has a ban on marijuana.
Unfortunately, the disconnect between state and local laws makes it difficult for cannabis businesses to accept money from customers. Hence the creation of cannabis-specific payment platforms. While these systems work like Square or PayPal, they offer weed businesses enhanced security and industry-specific features.
However, not all marijuana payment providers are the same. If you’re shopping for the best cannabis payment platform, you need to keep a few factors in mind.
How To Choose The Perfect Pot Payment Processor
What’s The Company’s Track Record In The Weed Market?
Most significantly, you need to know your payment partner has experience in the cannabis industry. When you scan a company’s website, it should be clear they have connections with other successful cannabis brands and a thorough understanding of the challenges dispensaries face.
Compliance should be the first concern you address when evaluating different cannabis payment platforms. Remember that every state has different ways of dealing with cannabis. Does your payment platform adjust for state-specific policies? Will it include special features to help scan for age restrictions?
When in doubt, you should speak with a member of the company’s staff to figure out how they remain compliant in your territory. You should also figure out how your payment provider will ensure you can remain legally operating at all times.
Test Out Your Weed PSP’s Customer Service
Picking up on the last point, you should speak directly with your cannabis payment platform’s customer care division. If you have any issues processing customers’ payments, you need to know there will be someone to resolve this issue ASAP.
Read your prospective payment platform’s ratings on customer review sites like TrustPilot. Also, be sure you know whether they offer phone, live chat, or email services to clients.
MasterCard For Marijuana? — What Payment Offerings Are Available?
After you’ve ensured your weed payment processor is legit, it’s time to look at their payment offerings. While your weed PSP must have superb credentials, it won’t make much difference if it can’t offer seamless transactions!
A great weed payment processor should offer a variety of ways for customers to buy their weed. Of course, credit cards like Visa and MasterCard are essential for max convenience, but it’s a good idea to give customers other options. For instance, does your PSP integrate with popular fintech apps? What about cryptocurrency?
Always look over the methods your weed payment processor can handle and ensure they fit your business model.
How Easy Is It To Swap “Green For Green?” — Analyzing A Weed PSP’s UI
You probably got into the pot business because you love Kush more than crunching numbers. However, as a dispensary owner, you need to keep detailed records of your transactions. A great weed payment processor should make it simple to make a sale and keep track of your payments. Excellent data storage and a clean UI will save you tons of time—and hence tons of cash.
If you’re opening physical dispensaries, it’s even more important to look for PSPs that have an easy-to-read screen. Your employees need to feel comfortable handling whatever sales software you provide. Ideally, your payment processor should give your team a training session or trial period so you don’t feel a huge commitment to make this system work.
In the cannabis business, you also have to examine how your system tracks a customer’s age and purchasing limits. Even lenient cannabis states have strict rules on selling weed to minors. You need to know that you’re only selling to customers who meet your state’s limits.
How Does Your Cannabis PSP Handle High-Frequency?
Cannabis businesses are always busy, but some days are more active than others. For instance, 4/20 fries many payment processors in legal cannabis shops. How will your PSP handle high-traffic days and blackouts? Could you access your payment software even when you lose your Internet connection?
To ensure you’re firing on all cylinders, you need to ask your weed payment processor how it will manage these known issues in the cannabis industry. Again, you should know how to get a rapid response from customer service to alleviate any problems.
Stimulate Your Legal Bud Business With Shark Processing
If you need a highly competent team in a high-risk business, look no further than Shark Processing. Our expert staff has plenty of experience helping companies in the legal weed and hemp sectors process transactions. If you’ve been struggling to provide your customers with a simple way to pay for weed, you need to speak with the Shark Processing team.
For a consultation, please reach out to Shark Processing at this link.