Mastercard has told financial institutions to stop allowing marijuana transactions on its debit cards, dealing a blow to an industry already on the fringes of the financial system in the United States.
Payment providers should not be able to control what users are or are not allowed to purchase with their cards. It’s a downward spiral. Electronic payment is a necessity in nowadays life.
In many states, and federally, marijuana sales aren’t legal transactions, and that’s the point. I don’t think Mastercard is necessarily doing anything wrong here, they’re just covering their asses. This one is on our politicians who are still dragging their heels on legalizing marijuana.
You do realize that there are no banks in the United States that will allow marijuana related business to work with them either, right?
It’s highly illegal under federal law. My business is done business with marijuana related businesses in the past, and they all have to operate with cash and hand only. It’s insane.
Nothing like carrying a suitcase full of $250,000 in small sequential unmarked bills to the bank you know…
Sets a precedent though, and implies that the card companies are responsible for what people buy. First it’s drugs, then it’s porn, liquor, gender affirming items and hormones, contraceptives, or whatever else the fascists don’t like. Companies won’t want to be fined by the fascist right once they start pushing to ban things.
Mastercard is adhering to federal laws, not taking a moral stand. Credit card companies aren’t obligated to facilitate illegal transactions. If they were banning something whose sale was completely legal, there would be a argument to be made here, but that’s not what’s happening. They aren’t going to go after porn, liquor, gender affirming items, hormones, or contraceptives, unless some fascists ban them, at which point it’s not the credit card companies restricting you, it’s the fascists. Go after the fascists.
What federal law are they adhering to? Mastercard isn’t buying the drugs they are denying a person access to the funds that that person already owns. Mastercard should be agnostic to what the person uses that money for.
It sets a precedent that card companies are responsible for what their client’s purchase, and can reject transactions based on what their clients are purchasing, not how much money/credit they have.
I can go after corporate shitheads and fascists especially when they are holding each other’s cocks.
The fact that marijuana is still federally classified as a Schedule I drug. Why would you think credit card companies would be okay with users making illegal transactions using their credit cards? Do you think they’d be okay with people using their credit cards to purchase child pornography? Or hitmen? Trafficked persons? What about 100 kilos of cocaine? I’m aware marijuana isn’t as bad as any of those things, and it’s way past time for the laws to be updated, but the fact remains it’s still against the law to purchase it. To argue they have no obligation to make sure they aren’t facilitating in illegal actions is absurd.
Why should I care what a person is buying? So what if they are buying hitmen or 100 kilos of cocaine? If and when they get caught they will go to prison. It’s not Mastercard’s job to police the system.
It’s not a defense of corporations to point out that the root cause of this problem is the laws, you illiterate baby. “Corporations follow existing laws if they protect their profits” isn’t a surprise to anyone with two brain cells to rub together. Fix the laws around marijuana and the rest of the issue solves itself.
Amazing how people like you will see these billionaire CEOs happily enforcing this bullshit and pretend it isn’t a problem.
In case you’ve never read a history book or watched the news, just because something is profitable for a corporation doesn’t mean it’s good or that we should accept it.
just because something is profitable for a corporation doesn’t mean it’s good or that we should accept it.
Read my comment again carefully, please. I didn’t say it was good or that we should accept it, I said it’s what they do. I don’t like corporations either and I’m not defending them, so calm the fuck down and stop inventing reasons to get mad at people.
Payment providers should not be able to control what users are or are not allowed to purchase with their cards. It’s a downward spiral. Electronic payment is a necessity in nowadays life.
As long as it’s a legal transaction, the providers should STFU.
In many states, and federally, marijuana sales aren’t legal transactions, and that’s the point. I don’t think Mastercard is necessarily doing anything wrong here, they’re just covering their asses. This one is on our politicians who are still dragging their heels on legalizing marijuana.
I’ll never use Mastercard out of principle after this. Fuck them.
You do realize that there are no banks in the United States that will allow marijuana related business to work with them either, right?
It’s highly illegal under federal law. My business is done business with marijuana related businesses in the past, and they all have to operate with cash and hand only. It’s insane.
Nothing like carrying a suitcase full of $250,000 in small sequential unmarked bills to the bank you know…
fyi slight bone apple tea there
it’s cash in hand
Sets a precedent though, and implies that the card companies are responsible for what people buy. First it’s drugs, then it’s porn, liquor, gender affirming items and hormones, contraceptives, or whatever else the fascists don’t like. Companies won’t want to be fined by the fascist right once they start pushing to ban things.
Mastercard is adhering to federal laws, not taking a moral stand. Credit card companies aren’t obligated to facilitate illegal transactions. If they were banning something whose sale was completely legal, there would be a argument to be made here, but that’s not what’s happening. They aren’t going to go after porn, liquor, gender affirming items, hormones, or contraceptives, unless some fascists ban them, at which point it’s not the credit card companies restricting you, it’s the fascists. Go after the fascists.
What federal law are they adhering to? Mastercard isn’t buying the drugs they are denying a person access to the funds that that person already owns. Mastercard should be agnostic to what the person uses that money for.
It sets a precedent that card companies are responsible for what their client’s purchase, and can reject transactions based on what their clients are purchasing, not how much money/credit they have.
I can go after corporate shitheads and fascists especially when they are holding each other’s cocks.
The fact that marijuana is still federally classified as a Schedule I drug. Why would you think credit card companies would be okay with users making illegal transactions using their credit cards? Do you think they’d be okay with people using their credit cards to purchase child pornography? Or hitmen? Trafficked persons? What about 100 kilos of cocaine? I’m aware marijuana isn’t as bad as any of those things, and it’s way past time for the laws to be updated, but the fact remains it’s still against the law to purchase it. To argue they have no obligation to make sure they aren’t facilitating in illegal actions is absurd.
Why should I care what a person is buying? So what if they are buying hitmen or 100 kilos of cocaine? If and when they get caught they will go to prison. It’s not Mastercard’s job to police the system.
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It’s not a defense of corporations to point out that the root cause of this problem is the laws, you illiterate baby. “Corporations follow existing laws if they protect their profits” isn’t a surprise to anyone with two brain cells to rub together. Fix the laws around marijuana and the rest of the issue solves itself.
Amazing how people like you will see these billionaire CEOs happily enforcing this bullshit and pretend it isn’t a problem.
In case you’ve never read a history book or watched the news, just because something is profitable for a corporation doesn’t mean it’s good or that we should accept it.
Read my comment again carefully, please. I didn’t say it was good or that we should accept it, I said it’s what they do. I don’t like corporations either and I’m not defending them, so calm the fuck down and stop inventing reasons to get mad at people.
deleted by creator
Liability?
There isn’t as far as I know and there shouldn’t ever be.