Cannabis is a considered a high-risk payments category in the U.S. due to its being legal for recreational or medical use on a state-by-state level but still a controlled substance on the federal level. This has made most mainstream banks and payment networks loath to participate, but there are still many companies willing to take the chance to support payments here.
But they're racing the clock. If the political climate shifts and the federal government gives the cannabis industry a green light, mainstream banks and payment companies will rush in to participate — as we saw in Canada.
Even without a legislative shift, many factors are changing the landscape in this market. How do the coronavirus pandemic and the broader shift to digital payments affect how people buy legal cannabis? Are there supply issues here as there were for common household items like toilet paper? Do the trends in the hemp-based CBD market signal any changes to legal cannabis? And does the shift to digital payments raise more compliance headaches than it solves?
Host: Michael Moeser, Senior Analyst, PaymentsSource
Guest: Tyler Beuerlein, Chief Revenue Officer, Hypur