Mastercard moves to block debit purchases of recreational marijuana

MARYLAND – Mastercard is announcing its intent to suspend all purchases of recreational marijuana using their debit cards.

The company is calling for cease and desist from payment processors, meaning if you have a MasterCard debit card, you cannot use it to buy cannabis at legal dispensaries across Maryland.
The move comes less than a month after recreational sales began in the state.

Marijuana Dispensary Curio Wellness Co-Founder Wendy Bronfein tells us it’s not the first hurdle they have run into, all of which stems from Marijuana still being a Schedule 1 illegal substance at the federal level.

“The needle is not going to move with certain companies until it is resolved at the federal level, they are major companies publicly traded and they see it as the schedule 1 it is and for the 75 percent of states that have access it is just not enough,” Bronfein said calling for the US Congress to pass the SAFE Banking act that would remove certain limits that legal marijuana businesses have from accessing the banking system.

She tells us the industry also faces a unique tax burden in the form of the 280e Tax Code.

As for sales across the US, Bronfein says Curio Wellness does not expect to lose sales, as many locations come equipped with ATMs, are located near banking branches or offer a secured payment processing service known as Duthcie Pay.