photo courtesy of Pixabay user 7raysmarketing
(SEATTLE) A creative work-around that allowed Washington cannabis stores to accept debit cards may be about to end.
It’s called a “work around” because cannabis retailers were never allowed to accept debit or credit cards like other retailers, out of fear there would be federal retaliation against the banks issuing those cards.
That’s where the idea of a cashless ATM came from, allowing point of sales to appear as an ATM charge from a nearby address. Sounds sneaky, but it worked legitimately, until it suddenly no longer works for one of the country’s major providers of this service.
Three people quoted by Bloomberg say NCR’s Columbus Data Services have suddenly shut this down, causing ATM outages in dispensaries and cannabis shops around the country.
This comes about a year after VISA became aware of the procedure, and threatened penalties for those involved.
Losing the ability to accept a debit card, combined the FEDS inability to pass any laws giving the industry equal footing with banks is expected to return many stores to a cash only policy.
