Credit and Debit Card Ratings

Plastic For Pot Purchases

In the beginning, it was all about green. Yes, when Colorado legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreational use at the beginning of 2014, most people immediately thought of the leafy green plant that had previously been illegal to smoke or eat.

But once the reality that the availability of recreational marijuana presented a multi-billion dollar industry sunk in, a different kind of green became just as important: money. And that turned out to be a problem. Although marijuana sales were deemed legal in Colorado, the federal government maintains its prohibition on the sale and use of pot. Because of that, and because of the reluctance of big financial services companies like Visa and MasterCard to anger the feds, cash became king for marijuana purchases. But the green for green transactions have undoubtedly put a damper on business; customers who have to carry dollar bills frequently buy less than they would if they could use a credit or debit card.

But the use of plastic for pot purchases seems to be gaining momentum. Earlier this year The Denver Post reported that Visa and MasterCard were leaving it up to local merchant banks to decide whether or not to process marijuana purchases using credit and debit cards bearing their logos.

Then on April 15 MJ Merchant Solutions, a Denver-based provider of electronic payment processing services to businesses, announced the release of an end-to-end solution for recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries to accept credit, debit and prepaid debit cards. According to MJ Merchant Solutions’ director of marketing, Kenneth Cade, this new rollout will be a boon to marijuana retailers. “Credit card processing will reduce the number of cash transactions, saving dispensaries in labor costs, reducing the risk of theft and loss, as well as automating, expediting and making the check-out process more convenient for the consumer,” he says.

Not coincidentally, this move is also about green. According to Cade, medical marijuana dispensaries conducted $2 billion in cash transactions, an amount that doesn’t include recreational pot use. MJ Merchants Solutions expects there will be $50 billion in legal marijuana sales over the next six years. By making a move to become the payment processor of choice in the marijuana world, the company undoubtedly hopes that a lot of that green will be coming its way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Category: Best Low Fee Prepaid Cards

Millions of people are turning to prepaid debit cards as a smart alternative to carrying cash and writing checks. Almost anyone can qualify and they don’t require a credit check or a bank account.

Though they carry credit card logos and can be used anywhere a credit card is used, unlike a credit card, they do not offer a line of credit. The user can only spend the amount that has been loaded onto the card or placed into the account associated with the card.

There are dozens of debit cards on the market, many of them issued by the same bank, but fee structures are vastly different. Bestprepaiddebitcards.com has done all the research for you and provides comprehensive reviews to help you decide which card is best for you.

GO2bank Offers Overdraft Protection up to $300.

And build your credit with the GO2bank Secured Visa® Credit Card with no annual fee*, no credit check*, and no impact to your credit when you apply. (sponsor link)

  • Plastic For Pot Purchases

    Plastic For Pot Purchases

    In the beginning, it was all about green. Yes, when Colorado legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreational use at the beginning of 2014, most people immediately thought of the leafy green plant that had previously been illegal to smoke or eat.

    But once the reality that the availability of recreational marijuana presented a multi-billion dollar industry sunk in, a different kind of green became just as important: money. And that turned out to be a problem. Although marijuana sales were deemed legal in Colorado, the federal government maintains its prohibition on the sale and use of pot. Because of that, and because of the reluctance of big financial services companies like Visa and MasterCard to anger the feds, cash became king for marijuana purchases. But the green for green transactions have undoubtedly put a damper on business; customers who have to carry dollar bills frequently buy less than they would if they could use a credit or debit card.

    But the use of plastic for pot purchases seems to be gaining momentum. Earlier this year The Denver Post reported that Visa and MasterCard were leaving it up to local merchant banks to decide whether or not to process marijuana purchases using credit and debit cards bearing their logos.

    Then on April 15 MJ Merchant Solutions, a Denver-based provider of electronic payment processing services to businesses, announced the release of an end-to-end solution for recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries to accept credit, debit and prepaid debit cards. According to MJ Merchant Solutions’ director of marketing, Kenneth Cade, this new rollout will be a boon to marijuana retailers. “Credit card processing will reduce the number of cash transactions, saving dispensaries in labor costs, reducing the risk of theft and loss, as well as automating, expediting and making the check-out process more convenient for the consumer,” he says.

    Not coincidentally, this move is also about green. According to Cade, medical marijuana dispensaries conducted $2 billion in cash transactions, an amount that doesn’t include recreational pot use. MJ Merchants Solutions expects there will be $50 billion in legal marijuana sales over the next six years. By making a move to become the payment processor of choice in the marijuana world, the company undoubtedly hopes that a lot of that green will be coming its way.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Enhanced by Zemanta
  • Debit Cards Reduce Crime

    Debit Cards Reduce Crime

    Long before the debate around the wisdom and fairness of using prepaid debit cards to pay employee salaries began, recipients of welfare and food stamps made the switch from paper checks to plastic. A new study has found that the transition yielded this surprising result: Debit cards reduce crime.

    A recent story in The Chicago Tribune highlights research conducted by Richard Wright, a University of Missouri at St. Louis criminology professor. What Wright and his team of researchers discovered is that replacing paper checks that recipients – many of whom did not have bank accounts – had to cash at check cashing outlets with debit cards reduced the overall crime rate in Missouri by almost 10 percent.

    “We saw this astounding reduction; we were surprised ourselves,” Wright told the newspaper. “Name a policing strategy that led to 10 percent reduction in overall street crime?”

    Once explained, the reason for this dramatic drop in crime seems obvious. Recipients of paper checks who went to check cashing stores walked out with cash in their pockets. Having a sizable amount of cash on them made them prime targets for robbers. The introduction of debit cards, says Wright, took a lot of that cash out of circulation and made people less vulnerable to crime. Indeed, Wright’s study found that burglary, assault and larceny fell by 7.9 percent, 12.5 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

    Wright’s study is the first of its type and he now hopes to expand his research to see if the substitution of debit cards for welfare checks has had the same impact nationally.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Enhanced by Zemanta
Credit and Debit Card Ratings