Cannabis companies are making efforts to limit contact in the midst of the pandemic.
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Cannabis consumers in California have a new way to help protect themselves during the coronavirus pandemic with a new contactless payment and delivery system launched this week by Caliva and its technology partner Hypur. The new feature is now available for pickup at Caliva’s retail stores and for delivery to customers in Los Angeles and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
The system relies on a secure digital payment service from Arizona-based Hypur, which started out offering regulatory compliance technology used by banks that serve highly regulated industries including check cashing, payday loans, international transactions, and other legal businesses that have banking challenges. The company then used that experience and technology to launch the Hypur payment system for cannabis transactions.
“This industry has lacked a sustainable, predictable, and compliant payment method since the beginning,” Hypur chief revenue officer Tyler Beuerlein said in a phone interview. “The reason for that is not a payment problem, it’s a banking problem. So, it’s taken us nearly six years to build out the regulatory compliance framework to launch our payments nationwide.”
Dennis O’Malley, the CEO of cannabis producer and retailer Caliva, said in an email to High Times that new options for payment and delivery are needed in the era of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Viruses like COVID-19 can live on cash and coins for days in some cases,” said O’Malley. “Hypur’s ‘safe checkout’ feature minimizes public health risks for customers, budtenders, and delivery drivers by providing a contactless payment option that will limit human direct interactions.”
The new safe checkout payment system can be used for both contactless home delivery and curbside pickup at Caliva’s stores. To use it, a customer can place their order through Caliva’s website and choose Hypur, which is accessed through a smartphone app, as their form of payment. Tips for budtenders and delivery drivers can be included with payment.
“When customers make a purchase with Hypur’s ‘safe checkout’ feature, they will receive a text code from the Caliva budtender or delivery driver managing their order to input into the app to verify and authenticate the transaction,” O’Malley explained. “Once the transaction is approved between Caliva and the consumer, a bank to bank transaction occurs via Hypur and the funds are exchanged. The products will be delivered to the customer by Caliva’s in-house delivery service in the same way as customers would expect from any other mainstream online delivery services.”
O’Malley added that although the system is new, it fills a need that has long existed for cannabis dispensaries and other retailers.
“COVID-19 is speeding up something that was inevitable: the move to allow more delivery and contactless digital payments for cannabis purchases and transactions,” he said. “Across every industry, it is becoming increasingly clear that the best way to serve customers is by offering in-store pickup and delivery options, and the best way to reduce reliance on cash is through seamless digital payments, particularly during these challenging times.”
New contactless delivery and pickup are now available through Caliva’s website with payments processed by Hypur. Customers who download and use the Hypur app for payment can get a discount of up to 10% on their order or have the delivery fee waived.
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