We wouldn’t have jobs if it wasn’t for merchant credit card processing and online shopping and all things between. But there has long been a simmering dispute regarding the pros and cons of credit card use: First the cons: Credit cards are nothing more than money a consumer doesn’t have; Credit card issuers and brands prey…
Category: Industry News
How Mastercard’s Negative Option Crackdown Impacts High Risk Merchant Processing
It’s as if the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has collided with high risk merchant processing: Mastercard is rewriting the rulebook for merchants who use negative option billing by requiring more transparency. A lot more transparency. MasterCard has set new rules, effective 12 April 2019, that will force merchants to improve communication and transparency with…
For merchant account providers, a few theories on Massachusetts tobacco products age law
High risk merchant account providers are well familiar that providing solutions for tobacco products and e-cigarettes can be challenging to say the least. In Massachusetts, the home state of several Instabill staffers, the purchase and consumption age of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, was just raised to 21 as of Jan. 1, 2019. Massachusetts is the…
A first for high risk merchant accounts: Is CBD no longer considered high risk?
Being a provider of high risk merchant accounts, we think this may be a first: A high risk industry reclassified as low risk. We’re talking about CBD, the healthy component of the cannabis plant with barely traceable levels of THC. It is proven effective treatment in pain management, PTSD and anxiety, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease and…
There is a bright side in waiting for a proper cannabis merchant account solutions
In our heart of hearts, we believe the day is coming when a cannabis merchant account solution can be had just like any other high risk industry; a day where robust payment solutions for cannabis transactions will be in place. For the many high risk merchant account providers in the U.S. awaiting that day, it…
The Farm Bill Passes—What Does it Mean for Cannabis Payment Processing?
Over the last few months, U.S. cannabis proponents are seeing the cannabis movement building, moving toward legalization, watching and reveling in the several small ‘victories’ that have taken place: Cannabis legalization in Canada States legalizing recreational cannabis (most recently Michigan, and many more considering) States legalizing medical cannabis (Missouri, ditto) One of those small victories…
With No Cannabis Credit Card Processing, Cannabis Merchants Will Always Be Vulnerable to Hackers
We’re thrilled at how far the cannabis industry has come and there seems to be a world of good things ahead for the industry. But we’ve got some grave concerns about the fact that, at least in the U.S., there is no cannabis credit card processing. This is a big concern, on several levels. Transactions…
How Cannabis Payments and Banking Would Profoundly Impact Other Industries
We often think of the difference robust cannabis payments and banking solutions would make. Sooner or later, that day is coming. Back in the 1980s, we distinctly recall a music video by John (Cougar) Mellencamp titled ‘Rain On the Scarecrow,’ which opens with three farmers discussing the fractured state of farming in the U.S. at…
Cannabis Merchant Account Services: The Popular Reasons Against Legalization
Because we offer cannabis merchant account services, we’re entrenched in the legal vs. illegal debate and watching with great interest as more states (and countries) have chosen to legalize. There is currently a battle raging in a nearby city in coastal Massachusetts, which legalized cannabis in 2016, whether or not to open a dispensary. The…
What the Farm Bill Means for CBD Merchant Accounts
There are many ways the Farm Bill, put forth in 2014, will impact our country. From a high risk merchant services viewpoint, it’s going to make CBD merchant accounts much more attainable. By far, the most merchant account inquires we receive are from CBD merchants seeking payment solutions. CBD is a burgeoning industry, and the…