Whether you have a new CBD business, you’re trying to increase volume on your existing business, or you’re one of the unfortunate many that got hit with the Elavon closures earlier this year it can be tough finding ways to process payments with your CBD business. Luckily, there are still four ways that you can get these types of accounts.
In December the 2018 Farm Bill got signed into law. This made marijuana plants and products derived from them federally legal as long as they contain less than 0.3% THC. This news excited everyone in the medical marijuana world as it opened up so many new avenues for CBD products to be manufactured and sold. However, there is still a certain amount of uncertainty and caution causing most industries to remain still. Most American companies and Social media giants are waiting to see the written government regulations that will govern the bill before opening their doors to CBD brands and so these companies have remained banned from essentially all Social media sites, search engines, and payment processing accounts while the regulations are put into place.
There are four main processing options for CBD brands
1. Domestic Credit Card Processing
This is what everyone wants, and what Elavon provided, and only one remaining bank now provides.
2. Domestic E-Check
Domestic e-check solutions are available to brands of any size. This alternative payment method doesn’t rely on banks and has been largely unaffected by recent changes. While e-check percentage rates are generally lower than international processors, they’re accompanied by additional monthly charges and setup fees.
3. Offshore Credit Card Processing
This option is available to brands of most sizes, primarily in the EU, where CBD regulation has been quite loose. In recent weeks, however, things have tightened. MasterCard is now requiring that, in order to process MasterCard payments through an EU merchant, a company must actually have an EU address. Visa is expected to adopt this policy by the end of the year.
4. Payment Terminals
If you’re swiping credit cards on location, then you may be in luck, as there are some credit card payment terminal providers who are still in the game. This is what the dispensaries use. It puts the money from the swiped card into your bank account.
By 2025, 10% of U.S. adults may be using CBD, creating a potentially $16 billion market of 25 million consumers. The industry is booming and will continue to evolve rapidly. This means there’s always help out there for those wishing to start a CBD business or expand their current one, and the possibilites for getting merchant accounts, and fullfillment are going to expand even more in the future.
