Accept Credit Cards Online for your Marijuana Business

Let’s accept, right up front, that most of the big credit/debit card companies are likely to offer you the facilities to accept credit cards online for your marijuana business.

They refuse these facilities to ‘illegal businesses’ and, at a federal level, selling, possessing, or using weed is still illegal. There are numerous horror stories abound marijuana related businesses whose merchant accounts have been closed, very often with no notice, because the lending bank has had a change of policy.

However, all is not lost. There are specific marijuana merchant facilities on offer. However, you will need to become PCI Compliant.

Please fill in this form on setting up merchant facilities for your marijuana business. Our broker will get in contact with you, there is no charge for this service.

PCI Compliance for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, or PCI SSC was launched in 2006; it is a global organization that was set up to develop and maintain security standards allied to the card payment industry.

In order to become PCI Compliant you will need to fill out an online PCI merchants self-assessment form. The assurances asked of you by the PCI are not complicated, they simply want to know that you will:

• Set up and maintain a secure network that is PCI compliant
  
• Protect all cardholder data
  
• Maintain a vulnerability management program
  
• Arrange strong access control measures
  
• Implement regular monitoring and testing of your networks using an approved scanning vendor (ASV)
  
• Implement and keep up with an information security policy
  

Abiding by these guidelines will not provide security, though, it is just a reputation-enhancing tool when all is said and done. You will still be responsible for the security of your marijuana business.

The following is an excerpt from our post, Running a Medical Marijuana Dispensary

• All dispensaries should invest in high security, and should have at least three of the following security measures: day/night security cameras on backup generators; steel doors or solid wood doors with deadbolts; silent alarms at numerous easily accessible locations; pepper spray or a self-defense only form of equipment; bullet-proof glass.
  
• No weapons should ever be allowed in dispensary premises unless carried by law enforcement or an officially licensed armored vehicle service. This includes any type of knife longer than that found on nail clippers. If a patient brings a weapon into a dispensary for any reason the police should be notified.
  
• Patients should be seen on an appointment only basis and there should be no more than three patients per employee on the premises at any one time.
  
• There should be no advertisements on the building suggesting that marijuana is in the store.

If you are serious about opening up a medical marijuana dispensary, I would recommend buying this “How to Open a Marijuana Dispensary Guide“.

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