Visa Is Not On Board With 'Cashless ATMs,' Warns Cannabis Retailers

This article was originally published on WeedWeek and appears here with permission.

Credit card company Visa V warned customers that miscoding point-of-sale purchases through “cashless ATMs” could lead to unspecified penalties.
Marijuana Moment

Fincann CEO Nathaniel Gurien estimated estimated thousands of dispensaries do this to accept credit or debit cards. He called it “clever, attractive and likewise fraudulent.” 

• “Cashless ATMs are POS devices driven by payment applications that mimic standalone ATMs. However, no cash disbursements are made to cardholders,” the memo stated. “Instead, the devices are used for purchase transactions, which are miscoded as ATM cash disbursements. Purchase amounts are often rounded up to create the appearance of a cash disbursement.”
• So, for example, an $85 purchase might be rounded up to $100 to look like an ATM withdrawal.

The memo didn’t mention cannabis, however, it seems clear the author had it in mind.

• “The announcement amounts to intimidation,” Morgan Fox of the NCIA said, “and will directly put cannabis businesses at even greater risk that could cost lives.”