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The Silent Crisis in Cannabis Payments: Why Dispensaries Must Rethink “Cashless ATM” Solutions Now

Authored by Brian Partridge President Partridge Merchant Processing

The cannabis industry has matured rapidly, but one area remains dangerously behind the curve: payment processing. For years, dispensaries lacking access to traditional banking channels have relied on “work-around” systems marketed as cashless ATMs. These systems promise convenience and higher sales, but behind the scenes, they expose operators to serious regulatory, financial, and reputational risks that many underestimate until it’s too late.

Today, the consequences of using these systems are no longer hypothetical — they’re real, documented, and escalating.

The Visa Crackdown That Changed Everything

Visa’s official stance on “cashless ATMs” isn’t ambiguous, and it isn’t new. In a widely circulated statement, Visa made it clear:

“Visa is reminding acquirers that miscoding POS purchase transactions as ATM cash disbursements and submitting POS purchase transactions into the Plus network is prohibited…Visa is aware of a scheme where POS devices marketed as ‘cashless ATMs’ are being deployed at merchant outlets and are operating in violation of the Visa Core Rules.”

In plain terms:

If a dispensary runs transactions disguised as ATM withdrawals, it is violating Visa rules.
And Visa is actively looking.

When a field investigator walks into a store and swipes a card, they immediately know two things:

1. Whether the system is compliant.
2. Which sales agent or ISO sold it.

Before that investigator returns to the office, they already have enough transactional data to request the merchant’s underwriting file and determine whether the business misrepresented its operations. That process triggers a chain of events that no dispensary can afford.

The MATCH List: A Five-Year Death Sentence for Payments

For many owners, the MATCH list is still a little-understood threat. But in payments, it’s the equivalent of losing your commercial driver’s license: once you’re on it, nobody wants to touch you.

Being added to the MATCH list means:

• No legitimate processor will onboard you for up to five years.
• Your business becomes effectively cash-only overnight.
• You may be treated as if you committed fraud, even if you were misled.

The impact isn’t operational — it’s existential.
Businesses have closed over far less.

Why Dispensaries Took the Risk in the First Place

Lack of banking access created a perfect storm in which creative “solutions” emerged. Many operators weren’t trying to break rules; they were trying to survive.

Cashless ATMs offered:

• Higher average tickets
• Lower armored car bills
• Faster checkout
• A sense of legitimacy for      customers
• And perhaps most compelling: a      feeling of progress

But convenience doesn’t equal compliance. And today, the industry is paying for that gap.

The Path Forward: Transparency, Technology, and Compliance

A wave of compliant solutions has finally reached the market — real debit programs, PIN-less options, direct payment apps, and bank-backed systems designed specifically for cannabis.

And yet, too many dispensaries remain loyal to outdated, high-risk methods simply because:

• The old system “still works,”
• They aren’t aware of the consequences, or
• No one from the payment provider has educated them honestly.

The truth is simple:

Compliance is no longer optional. It is a competitive advantage.

Dispensaries that adopt legitimate payment rails will grow faster, attract better partners, and operate with confidence instead of fear. Those that don’t will eventually be forced to — often at the worst possible moment.

A Turning Point for the Industry

The cannabis market is entering a new era, one where professionalism and regulatory alignment will define the winners. Payment processing is at the center of that shift.

The question is no longer “Is the workaround worth the risk?”
The question is “Why take a risk at all?”

As enforcement increases, transparency becomes the only long-term strategy. Operators who modernize their payment infrastructure now will protect their businesses, improve customer experience, and position themselves to thrive in a maturing market.

The cannabis industry has evolved.
It’s time for its payments to evolve with it.