Aloha Cannabis Payment Processing in Hawaii

Last Updated on Mar 27, 2018

In October of 2017 Hawaii’s medical marijuana industry moved from a cash-only system to one that accepts a relatively new type of debit system. The state began using a cannabis payment processing program known as CanPay that was created in an effort to fill a gap in the cannabis industry that major banks, Visa, MasterCard, Apple, and Google all left behind. Due to federal regulations these companies understandably have been extremely cautious about offering their services to the industry.

While Hawaii’s decision to go cashless  would not have been implemented without obvious benefits to both cannabis consumers and the dispensaries who operate within its system, the cannabis payment processing system is not ideal for everyone. Let’s explore the pros and cons of using this type of system.

Not everyone has a smartphone. Though Apple and Google have banned CanPay in their app stores, the app is still available on the  CanPay website. Without a smartphone, however, customers will be forced to log in using computers located within each dispensary.
Another potential problem is that a single system like CanPay is not immune to hacking. Put simply, if CanPay goes down, the entire Hawaiian cannabis market could be at risk.

One benefit of using this new payment processing method is that dispensaries will no longer need to process huge amounts of cash. Also, they won’t need to pay their taxes to the IRS in cash.
A benefit for cannabis consumers is that customers can avoid paying exorbitant ATM fees each time they need to withdraw cash for a transaction. Actually there are no fees to consumers for using Can Pay.

CanPay partnered with ZipLine, a technology which enables consumers to link their checking account with the CanPay App so consumers can pay for cannabis purchases electronically instead of using cash. Ultimately, dispensaries will be much more secure both financially and physically with less cash on hand.

Although CanPay is not a perfect solution it does provide cannabis business owners with some distinct advantages in terms of security, ease of accounting and paying taxes. After dispensaries and consumers have had time to get used to this new cannabis payment processing system, everyone, including regulators will have a clearer picture of its benefits and pitfalls allowing for further refinement.

CanPay is based in Colorado and is currently being used by dispensaries in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington.

In order for a dispensary to join the CanPay network, the dispensary owners must be banking with an approved CanPay financial institution (which are already offering their services to the cannabis industry).

Are you using CanPay in your dispensary?

If so, how is that working out for you?