MMA Provides Credit Card Processing for Cannabis Medical Merchants

Posted on August 12, 2016 by admin

Marijuana merchant (MMA) recently announced that it now offers credit card processing solutions for medical cannabis merchants. In the past, only retail dispensaries were able to utilize MMA’s PIN based programs, due to industry regulations. Now, MMA can offer wireless payment processing services through its PIN system for delivery or mobile dispensaries; this new solution allows mobile dispensaries to accept payments on the go.

Securing credit card processing for cannabis medical merchants is a very big struggle. Traditional sources quickly shy away from the MMJ industry and refuse to offer their services. Even if they would like to welcome their business, current regulations make it difficult, if not impossible. This forces merchants to resort to a cash-only business, while other industries considered “high risk” enjoy credit card processing.

With MMA, on the other hand, cannabis medical merchants can have their funds from transactions deposited into their accounts every 24-48 hours – regardless of their “high risk” business type. Thus, allowing merchants to avoid keeping excessive cash on hand and cancel out the temptation for thieves. MMA’s simple, streamlined application process, low rates and quality customer service has made it one of the fastest growing payment processing websites on the Internet.

According to MMA, “We provide safe and secure credit and debit card payment processing using our PIN based program designed specifically for the MMJ industry. Dispensaries have faced many challenges when trying to start accepting electronic payments at their locations.”

“Our merchant advisers can answer all your questions and recommend solutions that will help your business reach its financial goals.”

Located in Los Angeles, CA, Marijuana Merchant Account’s (MMA) expert team have been and continue to be strong advocates of the medical marijuana industry. Their solutions – specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of the MMJ industry – have made it both easier and safer for patients to access their medicine. MMA is dedicated to providing the very best in electronic payment processing to the medical marijuana industry.

Marijuana Legalization Brings a New Need for Further Research and Caution

Posted on December 19, 2014 by admin

The success of marijuana initiatives has revealed that the nation’s feelings towards the idea has softened. Even though only four out of the fifty states have legalized recreational use, voters have displayed that their opinions on marijuana no longer fall along partisan lines.

Sixteen years ago, California led the way by making medical marijuana easier to obtain than a prescription drug. Dozens of states have now legalized the use of medical marijuana, while Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have legalized recreational use.

It would seem that the push for marijuana will go marching on, despite the fact that it is illegal on the federal level. In fact, it is considered as dangerous of a drug as heroin. Surveys have revealed that half of American believe it should be legalized while 75% think that it will happen in the future.

However, no one seems to be stopping to consider the dangerous of legalization. Because marijuana is technically illegal on the federal level, no scientific tests have been done to determine whether or not it is safe for it to become legal on the state level.

According to an article by Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times, “Researchers comparing the brains of ‘chronic’ marijuana users (who smoke at least four times a week) with those of people who never light up found pot smokers had less gray matter in a region of the brain that influences decision making, and they had significantly lower IQs than their nonsmoking counterparts.”

With more than a million people in the United States legally using marijuana, it is time to consider regulations on cannabis. In addition to not knowing what the exact long term effects are on the user, young people are ending up in emergency rooms from accidental consumption of what they thought was candy.

Considering the business implications, there is still a high risk to running a business in this industry. In order to safely process payments and operate efficiently, marijuana merchant accounts are still the go-to option. With the questions that still surround the industry, marijuana merchant accounts are just the tool you need to operate successfully.

For a Marijuana Merchant Account contact us today!

Medical Marijuana Industry Poised To Exceed $8 Billion by 2019

Posted on June 27, 2014 by admin

A new report published by IBISWorld Research claims that the medical marijuana industry could reach a revenue of $8.4 billion by 2019. In 2014 the revenue is projected to grow by 63.1%. Annually, the growth rate would be nearly 19%.

There are some challenges that the industry could face including state and federal regulations. Due to many state laws medical marijuana is mainly a small business operation though the industry is set to pay more than $750 million in wages making it very valuable.

As such there are many companies which will expand their operations, unveil new products and new partnerships to continue to grow in the cannabis market.

DirectView Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: DIRV) a leading security and video technology company has created a strategic partnership with CannaPods, LLC to be the exclusive security solutions provider for CannaPod’s customizable portable cannabis grow rooms. The terms of the agreement mean that CannaPod will recommend DirectView as the vendor for its cannabis grow room environments. DirectView could then provide video surveillance, video monitoring and video recording products to CannaPods and sister company PonicPods, LLC., which makes growing environments targeted at a variety of industries including organic foods.

In regard to new products Green Cures & Botanical Distribution Inc. (OTC: GRCU) are taking steps to innovate in the cannabis and botanical industry by creating high quality hempseed oils and cannabis flower topical medicinal and botanical products. With plans to work in multiple industries including Nutritional Supplement/Dietary, Health and Wellness, Functional Beverages, Hemp and Online Marketing the company stands to gain significant sales especially in the Nutritional Supplement/Dietary industry which is evidently worth more than $31 billion in the United States. It is estimated that half of all Americans use some type of dietary supplement and 40% use nutritional ones.

MediFarm LLC, a subsidiary of Terra Tech Corp. (OTCQB: TRTC), recently obtained a special permit in Clark County, Nevada to create a medical cannabis cultivation and production facility which will allow it to expand its extensive experience in agriculture and medical cannabis growth. The company will now seek approval from the state for the proper business license to operate its facilities.

Vapor Group, Inc. (OTCQB: VPOR) is set to introduce a new line of high-end products at the Weedstock Cannabis Investor Conference in Denver. The company plans to display a new line of vaporizers including the “Vapor Box THB” which gently heats the dry herbs or oil-wax with air inside a controlled temperature heating chamber. This would vaporize without burning an herb unlike current vaporizers which use heating coils. It has been created to have a 10,000 hour lifetime.

With so much expansion in the marijuana industry the use of marijuana merchant accounts is set to grow as well as facilities look for ways to securely and effectively process payments. Payments are an important part of the industry and the facilitation of payments through a marijuana merchant account will make the process easier and more efficient.

For a Marijuana Merchant Account contact us today!

With Fed Help, Colorado May Have World’s First Marijuana Banks

Posted on June 26, 2014 by admin

Colorado is looking to incorporate the world’s first bank to cater exclusively to marijuana retailers, if Congress passes legislation. These banks are set to help marijuana businesses obtain transaction and account services that they would otherwise have difficulty finding. However, even if this legislation does not pass, there are transaction and merchant account services available to marijuana retailers.

The vast majority of banks and merchant account providers turn their noses up at marijuana retailers for many reasons, from not knowing how to deal with these companies to not being well equipped to dealing their high sale volumes. There are options available, namely high risk merchant account processors that specialize in marijuana accounts, such as us, here at http://marijuana-merchant-account.com, or MMJ.

Our advisors at MMJ can answer all your questions and recommend solutions that will help your business reach its financial goals. We offer clients a full suite of payment processing options allowing them to accept more payments than ever. We offer merchant accounts for medical and legal recreational marijuana. We have helped hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries and legalized recreational marijuana retailers with payment processing services. Our retail locations choose our solution because there are no processing fees, discount rates, or Interchange fees. The patient accepts the convenience fee at the point of sale so there are no fees to the merchant. This also allows you to operate legally and within Visa, MasterCard and the association guidelines. We are at the top of our game, and we look forward to helping you advance your medical or recreational marijuana business. For your marijuana merchant account needs, look no further than MMJ.

It is fantastic that the government is considering legislation to bring forth banks that exclusively help legal marijuana businesses. However, if this legislation does not pass, all is not lost. If you are in need of a marijuana merchant account or processor, you need to look for further than MMJ, as we have over 10 years of experience in the industry.

To open a Marijuana Merchant Account, contact us today

Cannabis Legalization Having Interesting Effects on the U.S.

Posted on June 11, 2014 by admin

MMJ BUSINESS AND BANKS

There is a perception that major banking institutions avoid payment processing for Marijuana merchants. This perception is false, however, as more banks are now revealing their dealings with marijuana merchants since the Obama administration released new guidelines on how financial institutions can legally do business with cannabis dealers. Recently the chief executive officer of a Nevada bank reported that they would do business with dispensaries that will be opening there.

John Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of First Security Bank of Nevada, told KNPR, “Frankly, I didn’t personally follow any of this until about two months ago… (but then) we began to get phone calls from attorneys, and they represented some very influential people in Las Vegas with a long history of being strong supporters of the city.” He continues, “These are not the sort of people that are in dark shadows or they’re coming in from somewhere else…these are local people who have spent their life here and they have an unblemished reputation in all ways.”

Sullivan admitted that he was skeptical at first of the growing cannabis banking trends, but after reviewing research on the industry and reading the recent banking guidelines set out by the federal government, he and the First Security Bank of Nevada board decided to proceed.

After looking at all of the facts, Sullivan noted, ““It became clear that the attitudes of the federal government – both the bank regulatory agencies as well as the Department of Justice – are quickly changing.”

First Security Bank of Nevada hopes to be able to start payment processing for Marijuana merchants soon. As the first bank in Nevada to openly admit to dealing with cannabis dealers, other banks contemplating doing business with marijuana merchants will be watching their interaction with the government carefully.

PITCHING POT

New government regulations have started a flood of applications from aspiring cannabis businesses into Nevada. As marijuana becomes legal in states throughout the nation, each one is left to decide how to process and grant licenses. In Clark County, Nevada, applicants will be required to organize a six minute pitch to the county commissioners and the public over a three day period. The commissioner board will then select 18 finalists and forward them to the state for final approval.

SEC WATCHING CANNABIS STOCKS

Cannabis stock trading is coming under scrutiny by the SEC as the industry is starting to boom. After temporarily suspending five cannabis-related stocks, the SEC warned investors about committing fraud within the sector. A year ago there were only a dozen publicly traded companies in the cannabis market, now there are more than 100.

Now the SEC is keeping a close watch on a sector that is used to coloring outside of the lines. With reports of shady investors, fudged financial numbers, and questionable business practices. Most marijuana merchants are frustrated by these practices. They note if the marijuana industry wants to be taken seriously, it must clean up its act.

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Marijuana Enforcement Division Grows with the Colorado Marijuana Industry

Posted on April 9, 2014 by admin

With Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry growing at such a rapid rate the regulatory bureau has had to step in and oversee operations. The growth is primarily due to the expected expansion of recreational as well as medical industries. Even though marijuana has been legalized in Colorado the state is still trying to regulate the drug and tie up some of the loose ends.

State officials have received notices of intent from 255 businesses which have plans to apply for a license after July, at which time the state will open up its recreational industry to businesses that were not originally medical marijuana businesses. The state agency overseeing Colorado’s experiment of marijuana legalization is adding enforcement agents, data analysis, along with undercover operatives. Officials believe these steps will make businesses more accountable.

Just a year ago, there was a state audit that criticized what was then the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division for not being able to track who was growing or selling marijuana. Budgeting and management was bad and there was no definition of marijuana’s role.

Now that there is more solid funding from application and licensing fees the Medical Enforcement Division has a stronger financial footing. This is the agencies third director in the last four years but finally the medical marijuana license applications have been caught up to the applications submitted in mid-2010.

Some industries are still questioning if the agency is capable of handling the challenges, more new businesses, and enforcing the product testing. In 2012 the division had to close three field offices and lay off the staff after a moratorium on new business applications force it to stretch operating expenses budgeted for one year over two years.

The Marijuana Division currently has 30 employees and they would like to see that number increased to 55 hopefully by the end of the fiscal year, in June. With increased manpower they are hoping to open some other offices in Colorado Springs, Northern Colorado and the Grand Junction.

Part of the expansion has made way for the secret shopper program. This will make sure businesses are not selling to minors. This plan is called the “underage compliance program” it is similar to the programs that are used in the liquor industry. There will be consumers sent out to retail shops to try and purchase marijuana. Then the operatives will go to the medical dispensaries and try to purchase cannabis without an official MMJ card. Although Colorado has a smoke your marijuana and feel good attitude these are some questions that linger yet unsaid aloud.

It would appear Colorado has the resources to hire and fund a Marijuana Division for the recreational marijuana industry but what about other states?
Will people who use marijuana be able to travel from state to state or country to country with their marijuana?
Will there be a breathalyzer for someone stoned behind the wheel of a moving vehicle?
Will medical marijuana smokers be able to smoke during work hours?
What about the individuals who drink, smoke marijuana and drive?

Marijuana businesses UNBANKED?

Posted on April 9, 2014 by admin

The recreational marijuana businesses may not be unbanked like they say they are. There a dozen stores supplying their customers alternative ways to make payments as long as they have a bank account.

Recreational marijuana businesses are allowing their customers to pay by credit card or ATM. Customers say they were very surprised and pleased when they found out they did not have to use cash to pay for recreational cannabis. They enjoy the freedom of being able to walk up to the counter and pay just like you would in a non-marijuana store with your plastic. Some recreational marijuana businesses were set up to even except Visa and MasterCard. The businesses say this was to ensure that no illegal transactions were entered to their systems.

But Visa has put the onus on merchant banks to decide the definition of illegal. And Visa stands strong to the law and they do not want their network being used for unlawful purposes. MasterCard and Visa backed away last year when there were federal raids in California and Colorado for suspected medical marijuana businesses, disallowing the cards for any purchases since September.

The Federal Government considers the sale of marijuana illegal but they will not challenge the state laws that have legalized and regulated marijuana sales. A statement from the Federal Government reads; “Given the federal government’s position and recognizing this is an evolving legal matter with different standards applicable in different states, our local merchant acquirers (banks) are best suited to make any determination about potential illegality.”

They have taken a very soft approach compared to the position they took on a year ago when Electronic Merchant Systems which is the key company that handles payment processing for the medical marijuana industry. Currently the payment processing of MasterCard and Visa has been suspended.
Bankers have said privately that if they had a little firm guidance from the federal regulators they would like to service the legal marijuana businesses but not until the government removes the onus.

The recreational marijuana stores continue to say they cannot get banking services, but dozens have teller and operating credit card machines in their stores which requires a bank account; but it does not have to be a business account.

The co-owner of Denver Kush Club says “he estimates 40 to 45 percent of his stores retail purchases since New Year’s Day were made with credit and debit cards and that several other stores say they are offering plastic as an alternative to cash but they will not give up the name of the bank they are working with”. The marijuana businesses are showing to have banking relationships but they are not willing to share that information with the public. They just want to be treated as any other business.

US Treasury to Discuss Marijuana Dispensaries and Banking Practices

Posted on December 17, 2013 by admin

Basic business practices in a credit-dependent economy mandate the necessity for a merchant account. Opening a merchant account allows for your small business to accept credit and/or debit transactions. In an economy and society that’s increasingly cashless, this is a must-have for any business. For a marijuana dispensary merchant accounts can be exceptionally difficult to open. Banks will not grant applications and open merchant accounts for marijuana dispensaries for fear of prosecution by the federal government as complicit in money laundering.

The Department of Justice released a memo on August 13, 2013 which promised deference to state laws and regulations regarding marijuana dispensaries. Marijuana has been legalized recreationally in two states, Colorado and Washington, and is permissible for medicinal purposes in 18 other states and the District of Columbia. The marijuana industry is estimated as a 1.7 billion dollar industry; an industry that is highly lucrative for high-risk entrepreneurs.

The US Treasury will discuss with banks about federal plans regarding the DOJ’s new deference to state regularization. The federal government remains active prosecuting marijuana dispensaries that advertise to children, carry marijuana across state lines, are associated with criminal organizations, and other areas that pertain to marijuana’s federal status as a controlled substance. Yet, lawyers for the American Bankers Association maintain that, in reality, the status quo for banks refusing to open accounts for marijuana dispensaries will remain as it is at present.

For investors and entrepreneurs involved in the marijuana industry and dispensaries, the complications from banks and opening merchant accounts will remain for the short term. Until the US Treasury and Department of Justice solidify a firm stance on whether banks can be prosecuted for money laundering by handling proceeds from illegal activities, banks will not risk opening accounts for marijuana dispensaries. Dispensary owners will be forced to continue to pursue alternative means such as online merchant account brokerage companies that can offer the services they require.

Mark Kleiman, pot’s go-to guy

Posted on December 10, 2013 by admin

Los Angeles Times – December 4th, 2013

Come New Year’s Day, in Washington state and Colorado, marijuana will be legit, courtesy of two ballot initiatives. How do you create a legal business out of an illegal one? After 13 years of Prohibition, the country at least had an earlier legal liquor market to refer to. That’s where Mark Kleiman comes in, the go-to expert on these matters. A UCLA professor of public policy and author and coauthor of books like “Marijuana Legalization,” he’s heard all the jokes about “hemperor” and “your serene high-ness.” He was consulted by Washington state’s liquor control board, which has to come up with the nuts and bolts for the new law and which asked him for, well, the straight dope.

Spread the word…

Posted on November 15, 2013 by admin

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Tag Archives: Medicinal Marijuana Merchant Services