Guide to Cashless Payments for Florida Cannabis Businesses

Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. You are responsible for your own compliance with laws and regulations.

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For the first time in over five years, Florida will soon be offering new opportunities for medical cannabis businesses.

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State health officials will begin accepting applications for 22 new medical cannabis licenses beginning April 24, per an announcement from Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration. The new licensees would double the number of active vertically-integrated operators in the state.

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In a recent webinar on Florida's latest cannabis licenses, we were joined by Doug Rodewald, Dutchie’s Head of Payments, to talk about the state of cannabis banking and what it means for Florida retailers.

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Top payments challenges for Florida cannabis businesses

Providing modern payment solutions is one of the biggest remaining barriers to normalizing the cannabis shopping experience. Here are three of the biggest payments-related challenges facing Florida cannabis businesses today:
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• Lack of payment options: Due to lack of federal regulation, the so-called "normal" payment options you'd want to present to your patients and budtenders don't necessarily exist. At Dutchie, we're constantly innovating to build secure, cashless, and compliant technology that normalizes the payment experience for all.
• Non-integrated solutions: While non-integrated payments may cost less to implement, there’s a catch: the communication disconnect between your payment terminal and POS can expose your dispensary to some costly mistakes. Plus, if you ever run into an issue and need support, you’ll likely be stuck with having to coordinate with a third party to resolve it. Learn more about the differences between integrated and non-integrated cannabis payments.
• Poor customer and staff experiences: One last benefit of using a cashless payment solution in your dispensary is that your checkout workflow will be incredibly swift. When budtenders are trying to move patients through the checkout process, things can get hectic fast. Humans aren't perfect, after all—we can drop money, lose the change, or miscount. But you can eliminate all these risks with a cashless or digital payment solution.

Rodewald also provided an overview of how cannabis banking and payments differ from other sectors including how integrated, cashless payments can benefit Florida cannabis businesses. Retailers leveraging Dutchie Pay, our digital ACH-based solution for cannabis payments, are seeing the following results:

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• ‍Drive loyalty: 64% of Dutchie Pay consumers within 90+ days since their first transaction return to use Dutchie Pay again‍
• Boost average order value (AOV): On average, Dutchie Pay orders are nearly 25% higher than other payment methods‍
• Increase purchase frequency: Dutchie Pay ecommerce consumers purchase 49% more frequently than non-Dutchie Pay ecommerce consumers‍
• Engage millennial consumers: The median Dutchie Pay consumer is 3 years younger than other ecommerce consumers

Learn more about integrated, cashless payment options available from Dutchie.

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View the full webinar featuring Dutchie’s Head of Insurance Mauricio Comi and Cannaspire’s Vice President of Regulatory Compliance:

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About Dutchie

Dutchie is the leading technology partner for cannabis retailers of all sizes. With a range of solutions covering point of sale, payments, ecommerce, insurance, and more, Dutchie empowers dispensaries to run efficiently, scale their operation easily, stay compliant, and offer outstanding experiences to the customers who rely on them.

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Contact us to learn more.

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