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The banks do. Payment providers do. Advertisers do. There's plenty of reasons for a business to be low-key about providing accessories to break Federal laws.

chasebank 4y ago
No they don’t. They just want plausible deniability. They’re a bank, they want to make money. Every dispensary has CC processing and a bank account. If they cared about federal law, they would stop obvious money laundering.
- alex64 4y ago
  I feel like this isn't the case? All dispos in California and Washington were cash only.. because they couldn't get accounts with banks.
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
  > Every dispensary has CC processing and a bank account. I've never been to a dispensary in the US that takes credit cards, and MC and Visa specifically don't allow cannabis businesses. https://www.cato.org/blog/cannabis-banking-clash-between-federal-state-laws https://www.cato.org/blog/cannabis-banking-clash-between-fed...
  - chasebank 4y ago
    I've only been to our dispensaries here in Santa Barbara and they all take cards. https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/21/12/24405152/its-about-time-credit-cards-for-cannabis-dispensaries-in-california-to-launch-january https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/21/12/24405152/its... EDIT: Just read the company is issuing and processing their own 'credit cards'. I'm positive I've only used cards when buying from our dispensaries. Come to think of it, it's just debit cards but it's a card and it will buy weed if you want it to.
    - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
      Point being, the large credit card networks, and more importantly, any FDIC insured bank, will not deal with cannabis funds. There are a number of workarounds (Colorado credit unions being a notable one), and fintechs like the ones described in the article you linked trying to provide card solutions, but they're still all locked out of the "normal" US banking system.
      - chasebank 4y ago
        "and more importantly, any FDIC insured bank, will not deal with cannabis funds." This is patently false. My close friend runs a $75M/yr wholesale distribution op out of Carpinteria, Ca, called Headwaters. He has multiple FDIC banking relationships for his business.
        hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
        Thanks, I stand corrected, looks like some smaller regional banks will accept cannabis businesses: https://flowhub.com/learn/cannabis-dispensary-bank-account https://flowhub.com/learn/cannabis-dispensary-bank-account
    - jachee 4y ago
      Yeah, you’ve probably used debit cards. That’s functionally just cash. Credit cards are no-go. No airline miles from picking up psychoactives.
  - namlem 4y ago
    They don't allow cannabis businesses that sell naturally occurring delta-9 THC products. Other cannabis businesses are fine.

chasebank 4y ago

No they don’t. They just want plausible deniability. They’re a bank, they want to make money. Every dispensary has CC processing and a bank account. If they cared about federal law, they would stop obvious money laundering.

alex64 4y ago
I feel like this isn't the case? All dispos in California and Washington were cash only.. because they couldn't get accounts with banks.
hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
> Every dispensary has CC processing and a bank account. I've never been to a dispensary in the US that takes credit cards, and MC and Visa specifically don't allow cannabis businesses. https://www.cato.org/blog/cannabis-banking-clash-between-federal-state-laws https://www.cato.org/blog/cannabis-banking-clash-between-fed...
- chasebank 4y ago
  I've only been to our dispensaries here in Santa Barbara and they all take cards. https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/21/12/24405152/its-about-time-credit-cards-for-cannabis-dispensaries-in-california-to-launch-january https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/21/12/24405152/its... EDIT: Just read the company is issuing and processing their own 'credit cards'. I'm positive I've only used cards when buying from our dispensaries. Come to think of it, it's just debit cards but it's a card and it will buy weed if you want it to.
  - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
    Point being, the large credit card networks, and more importantly, any FDIC insured bank, will not deal with cannabis funds. There are a number of workarounds (Colorado credit unions being a notable one), and fintechs like the ones described in the article you linked trying to provide card solutions, but they're still all locked out of the "normal" US banking system.
    - chasebank 4y ago
      "and more importantly, any FDIC insured bank, will not deal with cannabis funds." This is patently false. My close friend runs a $75M/yr wholesale distribution op out of Carpinteria, Ca, called Headwaters. He has multiple FDIC banking relationships for his business.
      - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
        Thanks, I stand corrected, looks like some smaller regional banks will accept cannabis businesses: https://flowhub.com/learn/cannabis-dispensary-bank-account https://flowhub.com/learn/cannabis-dispensary-bank-account
  - jachee 4y ago
    Yeah, you’ve probably used debit cards. That’s functionally just cash. Credit cards are no-go. No airline miles from picking up psychoactives.
- namlem 4y ago
  They don't allow cannabis businesses that sell naturally occurring delta-9 THC products. Other cannabis businesses are fine.