I recall news stories about legal pot businesses in Washington not being able to keep their money in banks because of federal regulations, so I'm curious how they're able to take credit card payments. Is it different for medical marijuana? (I wouldn't think so, as that is still illegal federally).
Hey, good question! Austin here, one of the co-founders of Potbox..
It really is a state-by-state and bank-by-bank (or credit union) issue. Same with the credit card gateways -- some are completely fine with it and others freak out right away.
When I spoke with SVB they told me their view on it was similar to Bitcoin. Oddly enough, SVB will no longer open accounts for Bitcoin startups. :-p
They'd have to use a high-risk credit card processor, which probably charges higher fees to offset the risk. Such processors exist, for other businesses with a higher incidence of fraud.
