The $376 billion payments network wants its financial partners in transactions for cannabis to crack down on using its debit cards, Bloomberg reported on July 26.
The budding industry is running out of convenient options for customers to pay for its products.
By definition, payments networks such as Mastercard and Visa (V.N) are middlemen, facilitating the movement of money between parties.
In the weed business, that means they take the money from the buyer’s bank account and ship it into the dispensary’s.
In Washington, D.C., some cannabis shops peddle quasi-worthless knickknacks such as stickers to customers while “gifting” small amounts of pot.
Persons:
workarounds, Mastercard’s, Anita Ramaswamy, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam
Organizations:
YORK, Reuters, Mastercard, Bloomberg, Visa, D.C, Twitter, Thomson
Locations:
Washington