Cannabis Payment and Delivery Presents a Unique Challenge and Opportunity

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

With the rise of the legalization of marijuana and cannabis products for both medical and recreational use across a growing number of U.S. states, a relatively new industry is figuring out how to operate efficiently and effectively. Along with differences in policies and regulations in each state, there are numerous guidelines and hurdles to jump through in the operational chain for cannabis companies. 

As 2020 drew to a close, a significant trend of the year was consumer delivery services, with yearly revenue of online food delivery services going up 27% in 2020 and reaching $136.4 billion. Health concerns, regulations and lockdowns meant that it has often been far easier to simply have consumables delivered to the doorstep. 

Delivering Cannabis is More Complex

Delivery services for more regulated products and industries like alcohol, tobacco and cannabis have made their way into the market, but these products require robust identification and authorization systems. While big players like Uber UBER have said they are looking into cannabis delivery, the regulatory environment is still quite new compared to other regulated consumer products and could be subject to change. Even if cannabis is legalized at the federal level, there will still be difficulties and requirements unique to the industry.

While delivery services have become a regular part of life for many, the infrastructure and logistics of delivering cannabis-related products get even more challenging when considering how payments have to work.

Adding Secure and Reliable Payment to the Mix

Adding to the proverbial pot of the pot industry’s complexity is ensuring the use of convenient, secure and verifiable payment and processing systems. Consumers like to quickly make transactions through a variety of means including credit cards and digital payments. But here’s the catch — because cannabis is still not legal at the federal level, using a credit card to directly partake in a transaction is a serious no-go.

All of this adds up to a lot, but old and new companies are taking notice and moving to tackle these issues for the industry. Paybotic is one example of an innovative fintech company completely focused on providing advanced services to the cannabis industry to help solve these exact problems. While the industry is still new and growing, companies like Paybotic are taking long-term approaches to ensure regulatory compliance, top levels of service, and ongoing innovation in a rapidly changing industry.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.