This week Bitcoin.com spoke with Justin Nahin, the founder of Indospace, a payment platform startup connecting cannabis dispensaries with bitcoin.
Also read: Bitcoin Price Skyrockets — Touches $2860 Across Global Exchanges
Indospace.io is the first online payment solution that incorporates a dispensary’s updated menu with a bitcoin checkout. The company is a white label bitcoin payment platform that serves marijuana dispensaries and their customers throughout the U.S. and in Canada. They allow individual dispensaries (and those with multiple locations) to register and login using two-factor authentication (2FA) to claim their business and establish certain selling criteria including: sales tax, delivery fees, delivery radius, employees and a minimum order amount among others.
Following the procedure, the dispensary can then save their settings and immediately open their online menu and bitcoin checkout cart. Each order received will be processed at a 3.5% fee with the balance automatically applied to their wallet supplied by Indospace. We chatted with Mr. Nahin to get some insight into the Indospace project and how bitcoin is used for cannabis purchases.
Integrating the Cannabis Market With Bitcoin
Bitcoin.com (BC): Can you tell our readers how you came up with your business model connecting dispensaries with bitcoin?
Justin Nahin (JN): I’ve known about Cannabis banking problems for quite some time, cash only and ATM machines are present at most dispensaries. Bitcoin seemed to be a great fit for the industry, and after extensively researching the topic I found numerous articles that strongly supported my personal assessment. I discovered that there were already a few dispensaries accepting bitcoin as one method of payment, which gave me the confidence to pursue the last ten months in developing this business. I thought that there must be plenty of other dispensaries wanting to accept bitcoin as well, but quickly discovered that there was a multitude of existing technical hurdles. Most businesses found them insurmountable and simply quit. Realizing that there had to be a better way, I decided to build a web platform that put everything into one neat little package.
The Indospace.io platform makes it easy for both the dispensary owner and their customers to engage in cannabis bitcoin transactions. I had decided to contact some dispensaries that were already accepting bitcoin and quickly determined that they were missing numerous critical pieces.
BC: Have you worked with any dispensaries so far helping them integrate their menu?
JN: The company launched Sunday, June 4, 2017. Our initial campaign reaches out to specific retailers showing them a preview of their menus and a recap of benefits.
BC: Can any state that has legal cannabis dispensaries use this platform?
JN: Yes, any dispensary in any state that has successfully registered with Indospace can immediately engage in ecommerce.
BC: Can you tell our readers how bitcoin is used for a transaction?
JN: The process starts when a user lands on a dispensary menu page by way of an organic search or by clicking a direct link placed on social media pages. A popup confirms the necessary requirements to proceed with an online order, such as requiring an MMJ medical license, age status, location and obtaining enough bitcoin to complete their transaction.
Bitcoin primarily is acquired through top exchanges such as Coinbase or Indacoin. Coinbase is currently the best exchange in the United States, according to numerous sources. They provide an intuitive interface and a history of fast transactions by way of debit/credit card and bank account transfers. Once users purchase bitcoin, it is either parked at the exchange in a user wallet or sent to another wallet that the owner specifies with a bitcoin address.
Once a user is done adding items to their shopping cart, they proceed to step two. Step two involves the user providing their first name, last name, email and cell phone number. The final step displays the order receipt and required instructions on how to complete the transaction. There are multiple ways to complete the transaction including a simple scan of the QR code.
There is also a “pay with your wallet” option that is similar to clicking on a “mailto” link in a browser, which launches the default email program on the users’ device. The application launches the amount due and destination payment address “prefilled,” allowing for an effortless transaction.
BC: What’s the overall mission for Indospace?
JN: The mission of Indospace.io is to engage every legal cannabis dispensary in the U.S. and Canada to incorporate bitcoin into their cash management strategy using our comprehensive ecommerce automated menu and checkout system.
Do you think more dispensaries will accept bitcoin going forward? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images via Pixabay, and Indospace.io’s website.
Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.
The post Indospace Allows Cannabis Merchants to Accept Bitcoin Effortlessly appeared first on Bitcoin News.
