In the case of safe banking… that has to be a scenario where your team is played out and, over time, is likely to evolve as information slowly gets announced in anticipation. How does your team prepare for (hopefully soon) safe banking?
In our view, safe banking somewhat already exists. You just have to know where to look, and, [there are] some really good bankers out there, waving the flag on and banking for cannabis. Safe banking is necessary; the bigger banks should provide these types of services.
If [the] safe [banking legislation] passes, the big banks are going to take their time to develop the compliance protocols to make it happen. They’re probably going to charge hefty fees for it, too. So hopefully, by that time, the folks that are providing services now can reduce their fees and then not continuously burden the cannabis Industry.
Why does a guaranteed payment work? And how?
A guaranteed payment is being able to make sure funds flow to the operator no matter what. If you look at major card networks, they don’t do that. They charge back to their clients. This has been a problem in widespread enterprise retail for many, many years- legal battles consisting of Amazon, Walmart, and a bunch of the major retailers, against the card networks.
The idea is [that] if you can guarantee the payment, you take on the risk you’re charging for the service. That’s actually valid; it’s not just the idea of being able to process a card, but in fact, making sure [the] money lands safely [as well].
That’s a service that we believe is worth paying for, the idea that it’s basically [like] a toll on the highway. You want to be able to say, “Okay, well, if you’re going to pay the toll, I guarantee you a safe passage from point A to point B.” And that’s what you’re paying for versus just being able to drive on the road.
Daniel Muller, Founder of AeroPay
Can the Cannabis Industry lead innovation for new standards in payment processing? If so, where?
Strong ‘yes’ to that. Absolutely. When you are so absent from what’s considered standard or traditional solutions, you’re forced into a mode where you either create or fail.
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