Cannabis industry faces hurdles, especially with financial transactions
The cannabis industry has overcome many hurdles as it has matured. Aside from vast differences in state-by-state regulations, the restrictions on financial services are among the most challenging. Whether it is a customer who wishes to pay for purchases, a cannabis business needing access to basic banking for day-to-day operations, or a cannabis business negotiating capital investments at exorbitant rates, roadblocks have defined this business journey.
To help tackle customer payment challenges, Onfleet has integrated with industry leading Paytender, a product offered by Dama Financial and its partner banks. To ensure transparent, legal, and efficient electronic payments, Paytender allows consumers to make payments directly from their bank account. The best way to envision Paytender is that it acts like Venmo meets the Starbucks app, but for cannabis. For merchants, they are now able to provide a convenient form of electronic payments to their customers. As well, with Paytender there are no rolling reserves, and it provides for next business day settlement of funds. Dama Financial also enables cannabis businesses to receive access to secure online banking and cash courier services that minimize the financial and safety risks of having large amounts of cash on hand. Deposits and payments can be made with cash, by check or electronically.
Partnership with Onfleet
Onfleet enters this practice by providing an efficient delivery experience for cannabis retailers and customers. With shifting legal requirements and stay at home mandates over the last year, many customers turned to delivery for medical and recreational cannabis. By offering safe, efficient, and legal monetary exchanges, customers now have a secure, contactless, and seamless e-commerce experience.
Cannabis deliveries make happy customers
The two companies have piloted their integrated solution with Nice Guys, a Bay Area cannabis delivery company. In November of 2020, Nice Guys improved ease of payments and delivery with this venture. Customers have an easy and safe way to pay from their mobile device and Nice Guys has a more robust way of processing all business transactions. Pre-payments made through this system reduces abandoned orders and no-shows for the delivery service.
Dama Financial reports a 60% increase in customers checking out using Paytender since releasing the Onfleet integration. This validates that customers want a modern and efficient payment flow.
“The Paytender/Onfleet integration has not only improved operational efficiency with payments but has also helped encourage our customers to utilize a contactless payment solution,” said Monica Gray, COO of Nice Guys. “Kudos to both Onfleet and Paytender for a seamless smooth integration!”
A comprehensive suite
“Dama Financial empowers the cannabis industry by working with its bank partners to provide access to a comprehensive suite of FDIC-insured financial products and services specifically tailored to cannabis businesses. In building out the financial backbone, Dama Financial enables the cannabis industry to be able to operate more traditionally. More specifically, Paytender is the leading driver behind converting cannabis from a cash-based economy to one that transacts more conventionally. With Paytender, consumers can pay by either linking their bank account or loading their prepaid wallet via debit, and the merchant may request the consumer pay in advance, which has been a paradigm shift for delivery,” said Eric Kaufman, Chief Revenue Officer of Dama Financial.
2021 Prospects
The financial and delivery teams will be expanding into dozens of new markets in 2021.
“While we all wait for a new chapter of vaccinations and openness this year, I envision that cannabis delivery practices will be here to stay through consumer preference and this convenience. And we plan to make every single one of those deliveries safe, fast, and easy,” noted Robert Fierro, Onfleet’s Director of Partnerships.