CanPay, SuperNet, and POSabit offer digital solutions to cannabis dispensaries, which have historically relied on cash payments.

Brazil-based credit startup Open Co, India’s BNPL card fintech Uni, and cannabis card provider SuperNet are all meeting unmet payment needs.

A federal defense bill will move forward without a provision that would’ve let banks offer services to the $17.5B cannabis industry. But Congressional backers remain supportive and fintechs have found workarounds.

Insider Intelligence recently engaged Cook in a lightning round of questions about how Valley is managing its digital evolution and the drivers behind its growth, including banking as a service and its recent specialization in cannabis banking. The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Acquisitions—like neobank Revolut buying hospitality provider Nobly or restaurant-focused platform Waitr purchasing cannabis-focused Cova—let providers quickly scale into new verticals via established solutions. It’s also a fast way for companies that operate beyond just POS software (like Revolut) to build their presence in the space.

Tagger analyzed roughly 11.6 million Instagram posts from 161,000 US influencers from January 1–July 30, 2020, in the following categories: travel, beauty, cannabis, DIY, food and drink, family, fashion and style, lifestyle, sports and fitness, and media and publications. Engagement was defined as any type of interaction with influencer content, including likes, shares, comments and views.