Cashless ATM Crackdown Leaves Cannabis Shops Scrambling

By
HeadQuest

Cannabis dispensaries in several states are returning to cash after a variety of ATM processors turned off “cashless ATMs” following another defeat of the SAFE Banking bill.

Cashless ATMs, also known as “point of banking” systems, allow customers to use bank cards instead of cash at cannabis dispensaries, giving retailers and their customers more flexibility when processing transactions for cannabis related purchases. 

According to the Bloomberg report, some of the biggest ATM transaction processors including NCR Corp.’s Columbus Data Services, have shut down the ability of cashless ATM transaction processors to use their service. 

Dispensaries in Arizona, California and Massachusetts have all experienced outages, according to Bloomberg News. Large dispensary chains of multi-state operators were also said to be affected. Curaleaf Holdings, which processes around a third of its transactions through cashless ATMs, has told customers at some locations that it is unable to accept bank cards. 

One workaround to the situation is Dutchie’s integrated PIN debit solution which allows dispensaries to accept in-store debit card purchases from customers. 

Visit tinyurl.com/hqnewsatm for the latest news on this evolving situation

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