A big B2B marketplace for cannabis buyers and sellers is stepping into the finance game.
LeafLink says it serves 50% of the U.S. wholesale cannabis industry across 30 markets. And now the B2B marketplace has made an acquisition to supply latest funding options to pot sellers and others which have trouble securing bank loans.
LeafLink, founded in 2016, is a Recent York B2B marketplace. It connects about 8,400 marijuana retailers with 3,700 cannabis brands and distributors.
LeafLink has purchased the of Dama Financial’s banking division, one in all the industry’s largest cannabis banking platforms.
“This acquisition lays the groundwork for a future integrated banking solution, signifying a monumental step towards eliminating one of the persistent hurdles facing cannabis operators: the shortage of access to secure, dependable, and compliant financial services,” LeafLink says.
LeafLink didn’t release terms of the deal. The continuing federal prohibition has limited cannabis operators’ access to traditional banks. That has left many businesses in a difficult position with vital services often withdrawn abruptly, minimal feature availability, cumbersome processes, or expensive operating costs riddled with hidden fees.
LeafLink acquisition of banking division
Credit unions and small state-chartered banks servicing the rest of the industry have similar limitations for cannabis operators, LeafLink says.
With over $3 billion in processed transactions, Dama Financial is one in all the most important cannabis-focused banking solutions within the industry. It serves greater than half of the cannabis-legal states within the U.S., in response to LeafLink.
“After witnessing firsthand the negative impact the federal prohibition has had on operators’ access to traditional banks, we’re thrilled so as to add banking to LeafLink’s product suite,” says LeafLink CEO Artie Minson. “And only a few firms and other people have the expertise that Dama Financial offers to the cannabis banking space. By joining forces and incorporating Dama’s banking product into our existing robust suite of services, we can be well-positioned to usher in a brand new era of efficiency and help address among the biggest challenges cannabis operators face.”
With the addition of recent finance options to cannabis sellers and others, the LeafLink platform now offers a collection of services for cannabis brands and retailers. That features integrated tools like:
- Order and category management
- Payments
- Data
- Analytics
- Promoting
For sellers, the marketplace platform enables them to access a real-time inventory menu, enter orders on behalf of buyers, log sales activities, and receive and approve inbound orders. As well as, sellers can track order status, share details with customers, and track upselling and cross-selling activities and opportunities, amongst other features.
For buyers, marketplace tools include order and reorder management, customer support, order-tracking, and the power to request samples.
The corporate also says its marketplace platform processes greater than 1 billion transactions annually, valued at about $4.5 billion.
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