How Speed can Help Cannabis Industry with Bitcoin Payments?

Being one of the most popular drugs in the US, cannabis revenue is projected to reach $47.20 billion in 2023 and will exceed $76 billion by 2027. Despite its rapid growth, the marijuana industry has limited payment options due to inconsistencies between federal and state laws.

Although many states have legalized the use of Marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes — the federal law still classifies it in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for most dangerous substances.

A while ago, President Joe Biden released a statement to review Marijuana’s classification under federal law. He stated, “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.  It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

While the statement was reassuring, not much has changed for the cannabis industry. Even today, cannabis businesses cannot use banks or process payments through cards.

• Cash

Cash is one of the most prevalent payment modes for trading Marijuana. However, having a lot of cash around can make you vulnerable to violent robberies — which have been quite common in pot shops in recent years. Thus, hoarding cash on-site is not a practical solution as it risks your workers’ lives and money.

• Point of Banking

Point of banking allows customers to withdraw money using their debit card and PIN. It works similarly to a normal ATM, except it doesn’t dispense any cash. Instead, customers receive a receipt that can be redeemed at the store from which it was issued. While this seems to be a good workaround to cash, it comes at the cost of additional fees levied on every transaction. Thus, very few consumers prefer the point of banking for paying at dispensaries.

• ACH transfers

Automated Clearing House (ACH) is yet another viable payment option for cannabis businesses. Through ACH, customers can directly transfer funds between bank accounts without using any checks or cards. However, ACH transfers may take one to three business days to complete. Moreover, to accept ACH payments, you will need third-party payment solutions. Thus, your customers will have to sign up with these third-party solutions to complete their payments. Adding an extra step makes ACH transfers less preferable and time-consuming.

• Debit/Credit cards

Credit or debit card payments can be ideal for cannabis businesses. However, due to inconsistencies between the state and federal laws, even legal cannabis businesses and dispensaries cannot process credit/debit card payments.

Despite its rapid growth, the cannabis industry lacks a reliable payment system for trading. Business owners are seeking a payment system that’s secure, reliable, contactless, and trustworthy.

1. Limits thefts & robberies by eliminating cash payments

The threat of violent robberies is a growing concern among cannabis business owners. Bitcoin can fix that by eliminating cash altogether. All the transactions carried out through Bitcoin are virtual, which makes it safer for employees and business owners to handle large sums of money.

2. Improves transparency & mitigates compliance issues.

Different states across the US have different laws for regulating the cannabis industry. In some states — it’s mandatory to keep all the records from seed to sale. Meaning, you must maintain records showing the source of each plant, how it is shipped, and where it is distributed. In such instances, Bitcoin can be very helpful as all the transactions through the blockchain can be traced back to their origins using a Blockchain explorer — offering full transparency to governments and consumers.

3. Lower transaction fees and faster processing

Bitcoin payments are processed almost immediately. You can withdraw your funds to your bank account or any other wallet quickly and easily. Additionally, the cost of processing Bitcoin payments is significantly less than the transaction fees levied by banks.

Bitcoin holds immense potential for the cannabis industry. However, you need a reliable payment processor to harness its full potential.

1. In-person payments

• One QR

One QR works for Bitcoins just like any other QR would work for fiat currency. It is one of the most convenient ways of collecting Bitcoin payments at your cannabis store. You can generate and print QR with just a few clicks from the Speed web app. Payments can be collected through an on-chain or lightning network based on your preferences. Additionally, the QR is easily customizable — you can add your company logo and brand colors to deliver a consistent shopping experience.

Register now and start accepting offline Bitcoin payments with One QR for free.

• POS app for collecting in-store payments

Speed Bitcoin POS is a mobile app that can turn your existing smart devices into a POS system that can accept Bitcoins across your offline touchpoints. The app can be installed on any device running on Android or iOS. To collect in-store payments, simply generate a QR by entering transaction details, and share it with your customers. They can complete the payment by scanning the QR from any Bitcoin wallet.

Download our POS app and convert your smart device into a POS system.

2. Online payment solutions

• Static payment links

With Speed, you can create static payment links to collect online payments for cannabis products. You can select the currency and specify the transaction amount while generating the link. Speed also allows you to add your company’s domain, logo, and change fonts and colors to match your branding guidelines.

• Seamlessly integrate Speed blockchain payment gateway to your website

Speed offers several plug-and-play extensions for seamless integration to your existing CMS or eCommerce platform. Additionally, client and server-side libraries are also available in everything from React to PHP, Java, .JS, and .NET to help you add the Speed payment gateway to your website. If you need any help with the integration, we have detailed documentation and live experts to help you.

3. All the features — one centralized dashboard

When you sign up with Speed, you get access to an intuitive web application that gives you a bird’s eye view of your account and its activities. Experience all the features from one centralized dashboard that’s accessible through a browser on web and mobile devices. You can add/edit account information, view all transactions, create payment links and QRs, generate payout requests, set 2 Factor Authentication, and much more through the Speed web app.

Sign up today to start using Speed features for free.

• Highly secure

Speed harnesses cutting-edge tools and technologies to eliminate fraud and safeguard your Bitcoin transactions. All your data is protected with AES 256 algorithm and in-transit encryption. protection against online threats and vulnerabilities. Last but not least, Speed offers several account security features like 2-factor authentication (2FA) and user session management to prevent any unauthorized access to your account

• Lowest transaction fees

There are no transaction fees until 0.5 BTC. Post that, you only pay 1% per transaction — which is significantly lower than the average bank or credit card processing fees that range between 1.5% to 3.5%. What’s more, Speed is forever free for educational institutions and NGOs. Thus, with Speed, you get lightning-fast payments at the lowest transaction fees.

• No KYC

Compliance and regulatory issues are major challenges for the cannabis industry. As a result, even legal businesses are unable to accept payments. Speed completely solves this problem by allowing users to accept payments without going through strenuous verification processes. To accept payments with Speed, all you need is a valid email address. It’s to bid adieu to those fluffy and exhaustive KYC processes that take days or weeks to complete.

• Wide variety of payment options

Whether you trade online or have an offline dispensary, Speed has a wide range of payment options for collecting Bitcoin payments through every channel. For online payments, you can easily integrate Speed with your website and offline payment methods can be set up from the Speed web application in just a few clicks.

• 24x7 Customer support

Speed experts are available 24×7 to assist you with your queries about everything from payments to payouts and other platform features. You can get in touch with us through live chat, or email and we will be happy to help. Moreover, we have detailed documentation explaining all our features, their use cases, and installation steps to empower you to make the most of our platform.

• Developer-friendly

We have plug-and-play extensions for all the major CMS frameworks and eCommerce platforms to help you integrate Speed with your store. What’s more, we also offer client and server libraries in everything from React to PHP, Java, and .NET. Additionally, if you need any help with your integrations — simply get in touch with us and our experts will take care of it.