Medical Marijuana Merchant Accounts

There was once a time when marijuana selling was wholly illegal. Now, medical marijuana has become something more acceptable and tradable; and, as a result, it is possible to acquire medical marijuana and buy and sell using merchant accounts. Being able to accept credit card payments is very important for success in todayís business environment regardless of the type of business that you operate.

This is why medical marijuana traders, such as you, need flexible and efficient merchant accounts as a business solution. There was once a time when the marijuana business was largely a cash business because of how difficult it was to gain approval for merchant accounts. Now, the expansion of the business and the radical change in the way medicinal marijuana is currently seen have helped to legitimize the business and to ensure that banks are now willing to offer their services.

Merchant accounts will be able to process your transactions for both online and offline purchases, and will process payments in-store, over the phone and over the internet. For an internet transaction this will mean the integration of a gateway providerís website. This will be a secure connection between your website and website services that are connected to the bank over a secure connection. Users will be forwarded to a third-party website in order to complete transactions. Once this is complete, the third party will report back to you that the transaction was successful.

This is known as a payment gateway, and is usually a third-party service that works for the merchant services provider. A payment gateway usually combines two services: a virtual terminal that will request that a customer enter card details; and the ability to access your website?s shopping cart, to allow for real-time confirmation of the transaction via a secure API.

Phone sales are a different type of transaction requiring different equipment, but serving the same purpose. The equipment is usually referred to as an ARU – Automated Response Unit – a physical terminal that allows you to key in the card details of the customer. You will get voice authorization from the customer to debit their account, meaning that it is possible for a customer to phone up your business and arrange for goods to be shipped to them without the need to physically be present. They will usually have to provide their long and card number, as well as the expiry date and the security number. The receipt will normally be sent to an agreed address.

In-person transactions are similar and use a terminal to make real-time transactions on a selected credit or debit card using chip and pin authorization. It is still possible to use signature authorization, although most retailers will only accept chip and pin. Banks and financial institutions may not offer all of these services, and the likelihood of being offered each of these facilities will depend on your merchant service providerís rules regarding the medical marijuana business.

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