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🗳️Texas Lawmakers Take Up Another Bill To Block Voters From Locally Decriminalizing Marijuana!🌿 A Texas House committee took up a bill on Friday that would prohibit cities from putting citizen initiatives on local ballots to decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances. Just two days after a Senate version of the measure cleared that full chamber, the House State Affairs Committee held a hearing on the companion version from Rep. Jeff Leach (R), with proposed amendments to align both bills. In the last few years, members, several local governments across the state of Texas have adopted policies and ordinances that are designed to decriminalize controlled substances or instruct law enforcement or prosecutors not to enforce our state’s drug laws,” Leach said, noting that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has filed lawsuits against multiple municipalities where the local reform was enacted. “Although these lawsuits are still pending, there’s a growing trend across our state for local governments to adopt these policies, and this bill is intended to address that,” he said. Under the proposal as introduced, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not hold an election for voter approval of a proposed charter or an amendment to a charter that violates” state drug laws. Leach described amendments included in a substitute version of the bill that seem intended to match what the Senate passed on Wednesday. For example, it removes language that would have required local compliance with federal drug laws, which the sponsor said was necessary “because federal law is extremely broad, and the state is allowed and empowered to regulate drugs—and often does do so more strictly than the federal government.” The bill would also require the attorney general to create a form for people to report violations of the law. And it’d expedite legal proceedings to challenge any city, mandating that an appellate court “render its final order or judgment with the least possible delay.” Meanwhile, despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November. #TexasPolitics 🗳️ #MarijuanaDecriminalization 🌿 #VoterRights ✊ #LegislationUpdate #CannabisReform 🚦 https://lnkd.in/eWn3rRrR

💳 Digital Payment Today - Palm Payment: Revolutionary Shift in Contactless Transactions🚀 Palm payment technology is gaining traction as a transformative force in the digital payment landscape, driven by its secure and convenient contactless transaction capabilities. Featuring biometric authentication, this method is paving the way for faster financial inclusion, especially for unbanked populations, by offering a robust alternative to traditional banking. The surge in palm payment adoption is fueled by the need for fraud-proof solutions, propelled by advances in biometric and AI technologies. As businesses and consumers increasingly prioritize secure and efficient payment experiences, palm-based biometric systems are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of contactless payments across various industries. Elsewhere in the market, Fidelity National Information Services was a notable mover up 8.7% and ending trading at $74.58. Meanwhile, Global Payments trailed, down 17.4% to end trading at $69.46, near its 52-week low. With plans to unlock $600 million in annual operating income by mid-2027, Global Payments' strategic transformation offers a rare opportunity for substantial growth. Discover the full story of their strategic journey by clicking here. Best Digital Payment Stocks SoFi Technologies closed at $10.98 up 3%. Nu Holdings ended the day at $11.00 up 1.9%. PayPal Holdings closed at $61.00 up 1.3%. Key Takeaways Unlock more gems! Our Digital Payment Stocks screener has unearthed 185 more companies like KeyCorp, HSBC Holdings and CIMB Group Holdings Berhad for you to explore. Contemplating Other Strategies? Outshine the giants: these 26 early-stage AI stocks could fund your retirement. #PalmPayment 🖐️💳 #ContactlessTech 📲✨ #FutureOfPayments 🚀💰 #DigitalFinance 🌐🏦 https://lnkd.in/giCFn6r6

📜California Cannabis: Setting the Record Straight on the One-Acre Cap🌿 Steve Deangelo is no small figure in the evolution of the commercial cannabis sector – many have called him the ”Father of the Legal Cannabis Industry“. I have watched Steve from afar and have known him for many years. I have worked alongside him on various projects over the years from Mexico City, MX to Roanoke, VA, and many places in between. And so, recently, I had to sit down with him to talk about the state of the California cannabis industry. In doing so, one particular issue came up and really seemed to perturb Steve – the One-Acre Cannabis Cap. And so, I dove beneath the surface to explore this issue more deeply. For years, a persistent myth has circulated in cannabis industry circles: that Steve DeAngelo—founder of Harborside and one of the most visible figures in cannabis reform—was responsible for eliminating California’s one-acre cultivation cap. As a cannabis attorney who has worked on policy across the U.S. and internationally, I’ve had a front-row seat to California’s legal evolution. The real story is not one of backroom lobbying or last-minute regulatory sabotage—it’s a story of legislative sequencing, local government action, and a state struggling to reconcile medical and adult-use cannabis systems Then came Proposition 64, passed by voters in 2016, legalizing adult-use cannabis. State agencies then set about reconciling the pre-existing medical cannabis regulations with the new adult use law. In April 2017, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issued draft regulations that stated: “The Department shall not restrict the total number of cultivation licenses a person is authorized to hold, provided the person’s total licensed canopy does not exceed four acres.” The term “person” included both individuals and businesses. Then, in June 2017, CDFA issued a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report reaffirming that policy, and in the same month the Legislature passed SB 94. By the time CDFA issued emergency regulations in November 2017 the legal foundation for license stacking was well established. Industrial-scale operations were already underway. Jurisdictions had issued entitlements, and state agencies would have faced legal liability had they attempted to reverse course. License stacking in California was the product of years of legislative development, local ordinances, and public regulatory processes—not the actions of one man. To suggest otherwise isn’t just incorrect—it does a disservice to the movement that made legalization possible. #CaliforniaCannabis 🌿📜✅ https://lnkd.in/gzjF6Y3t

🚨The CFPB’s Focus Will Narrow in the Wake of Mass Layoffs!💼 A dramatically reduced Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will still operate, but with a drastically narrower enforcement focus, payments experts say. Notices went out late Thursday to CFPB employees that the agency plans to lay off about 90% of its workforce, which would reportedly be about 1,500 employees, leaving the CFPB with a staff of about 200. Employee access to the agency’s systems and email will reportedly end Friday evening. The notice, sent by CFPB chief legal counsel Mark Paoletta, stated that in addition to the layoffs, the CFPB will shift resources away from enforcing and overseeing consumer-protection laws that can be handled by the states, such as medical debt, student loans, and digital payments. One area where the bureau will reportedly focus its remaining resources is fraud. The shift in the CFPB’s enforcement focus leaves an agency that will be less political in nature, says Eric Grover, principal at the consultancy Intrepid Ventures. A “depoliticized CFPB,” won’t be as “hostile to the financial-services industry and [will] end absolutist paternalism that reigned under Director Chopra,” Grover says by email. Rohit Chopra was fired by President Trump in February after serving as CFPB director since October of 2021. What remains of the agency will essentially be “window-dressing” to fend off possible legal challenges to gutting the consumer-protection legislation that led to the bureau’s creation, Steve Mott, principal of consultancy BetterBuyDesign, says by email. “It is tragic that the expertise and analytical data accumulated and the mostly constructive behavioral changes that resulted from the bureau’s efforts will likely be lost,” Mott says. “One could argue that some of the aggressive initiatives the bureau pursued in the past couple of years, such as proposing banks write blank checks to anyone claiming a victim-assisted scam, were counterproductive, but who’s left now to examine and figure out what’s right or what’s wrong with consumer finances–especially in the wild frontier of digital transacting?” “Congress created the CFPB, only Congress can eliminate it,” Grover says. “While it can dramatically rein in the CFPB, the Trump administration cannot shutter the agency. There is little to no chance that this Congress will eliminate the CFPB.” And, despite the massive layoffs, a future administration could choose to replenish the agency’s resources once President Trump leaves office, Grover adds. #CFPBChanges 🚨📉💼 https://lnkd.in/gyTrYMvF

⚖️Arkansas GOP Governor Vetoes Bill To Allow Drive-Thru Medical Marijuana Sales At Dispensaries And Ease Delivery Rules📉 The Republican governor of Arkansas has vetoed a bill that would have allowed medical cannabis sales at drive-thru windows at dispensaries, while also easing certain rules around marijuana delivery services for patients and caregivers. After the legislation from Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R) narrowly advanced through the legislature, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) returned the measure with a veto message on Wednesday. Under the bill, licensed dispensaries would be have been authorized to “deliver usable marijuana to a qualified patient or designated caregiver via a drive-through window located at the dispensary,” the text says. People would have needed to place an online order and pick up their products on the same day of the transaction. The measure also would have revised existing statute to allow visitors to tour dispensaries in additional to cultivation facilities. And it would have made it so conventional medical cannabis deliveries could be handled by one employee, instead of the current minimum of two, if additional security measures were taken. The governor didn’t address any of the specifics of the bill, instead simply voicing opposition to the idea of expanding access to cannabis. Ahead of last year’s election, the governor opposed a ballot initiative that would have expanded Arkansas’s medical marijuana program—a measure ultimately scuttled by the state Supreme Court. Despite her opposition to the proposal, Sanders has been open to maintaining the existing medical cannabis program and adopting other modest reforms. For example, in 2023 she signed a bill into law clarifying that medical marijuana patients can obtain concealed carry licenses for firearms despite federal law still prohibiting cannabis users from possessing guns. The state’s medical marijuana has proved popular since its implementation in 2019, with officials announcing last May that at least 102,000 residents have registered for patient cards, exceeding expectations. However, Arkansas voters rejected a ballot initiative to more broadly legalize marijuana for adults in 2022. #MedicalMarijuana #PolicyDebate #ArkansasPolitics #GovernorVeto 🚗🌿⚖️📉 https://lnkd.in/gM4JaYJk

💳New Data: Consumers Want Control and Choose Instant Payments to Get It🚀 The digital disbursement landscape has evolved dramatically over the past seven years, reshaping how consumers receive payments. U.S. consumers increasingly receive disbursements from a variety of corporate and government agencies. In the same time, the demand for instant payments has surged, driven by a desire for speed, security and convenience. Consumers no longer view instant disbursements as a luxury but as a necessity, particularly in scenarios where rapid access to funds is critical. This shift is evidenced by a threefold increase in the number of consumers using instant payments since 2018. While consumer preference for instant disbursements has remained steady, actual adoption has skyrocketed. Additionally, security concerns, along with speed and convenience, have made what’s known as the push-to-debit method the preferred choice for consumers when receiving disbursements. Consumers aren’t just embracing instant payments; they’re increasingly willing to pay for them. Inside “The State of Digital Disbursements: Why Consumers Prefer Instant Payments” * Discover why instant disbursement usage has tripled since 2018 — and what’s fueling the shift. * Learn how disbursement methods impacts consumer satisfaction, with 94% reporting high satisfaction when given a choice. * Explore why nearly 4 in 10 income recipients are willing to pay for instant access — and which payment types drive this demand. * See how push to debit and digital wallets are emerging as preferred, secure channels for real-time fund delivery. The report explores consumers’ increasing use of instant payment methods for the disbursements they receive from nongovernment entities. Featuring 10 charts of insightful data, this study explores consumer satisfaction with instant pay and recipients’ willingness to pay a fee for that option. It provides insight into how disbursement preferences are evolving — and what it means for companies shaping the future of payments. #InstantPayPower 💳⚡ #ConsumerChoice 🛍️✨ #FastAndFreeing 🚀💵 #PaymentRevolution 🌟🔐 https://lnkd.in/g5TgTJ6n

🏦U.S. Bank is stepping up its efforts to entice merchants to use its business checking account with the ability to accept credit and debit card payments.💳 Announced Monday, the U.S. Bank Business Essentials account enables merchants to accept card payments and be eligible for free same-day access to their funds and receive a no-cost mobile reader. The bank says sales are processed daily and deposited into the associated checking account, though funding speeds will vary between weekdays and weekends and are dependent on batch settlement times, though batches are processed each day, including Saturday and Sunday. The card reader is an Ingenico Moby/5500 device that can vary in price, but lists on technology supplier CDW’s Web site at $151.99. Account holders also are issued a U.S. Bank Business debit card. Targeted at small businesses, the new checking account and acceptance service also includes fraud-prevention services and a single application for merchant onboarding. A U.S. Bank survey last year found that 80% of respondents prefer working with companies that provide bundled banking, payments, and business-operation services. In other U.S. Bank news, the Minneapolis-based financial institution released Spend Management, a platform for businesses to monitor, track, and control their card-based spending. Available to businesses with a U.S. Bank business credit card, the service can enable them to set spending controls for cards, switch cards on or off, and assign cards to specific employees, job sites, or departments, though some features may require a fee. Spend Management also can be used to adjust spending-limit requests as needed and enables users to upload receipts to automatically match transactions.A free version of the platform is available to U.S. Bank business card holders, while a paid version—$79 a month or $799 annually—includes the department designations, bulk user management, custom rules for categorizing and splitting transactions, and the ability to create approval requests and expense-policy settings. A free version of the platform is available to U.S. Bank business card holders, while a paid version—$79 a month or $799 annually—includes the department designations, bulk user management, custom rules for categorizing and splitting transactions, and the ability to create approval requests and expense-policy settings. #BusinessBanking #PaymentSolutions #SmallBusinessSupport #MerchantServices #USBanking 🏦💳📈✨ https://lnkd.in/gfw8-6kw

🎁Merchants Continue to Improve Gift Card Programs, a Blackhawk Study Finds📊 U.S. merchants achieved higher performance scores for their gift card programs in 2025, according to Blackhawk Network’s eighth annual review of the programs. Staples Inc. led all merchants with a score of 104%, followed by Amazon.com with a score of 101% and Best Buy Co. Inc. at 99%. Cosmetics retailer Sephora USA Inc. and Target Corp. rounded out the top five with scores of 99% each. Staples and Amazon scored more than 100% because merchants could earn bonus points. Blackhawk attributes the overall increase in scores to merchants’ willingness to invest in mobile delivery, personalization through artificial intelligence, and increased payment flexibility. Investing in those areas reflects merchants’ commitment to meeting consumers where and how they prefer to shop, according to Blackhawk. Blackhawk says it evaluated gift card programs for 100 merchants across 17 vertical markets and using 126 unique criteria. The study was conducted in collaboration with NAPCO Research. When evaluating merchants collectively by vertical market, nearly all verticals saw year-over-year increases in composite scores. In many cases, composite scores increased by double digits from the previous year. Consumer electronics/office stores topped the list with a composite score 92%, followed by health/beauty merchants with a score of 82% and mass merchants at 77%. Consumer-electronics and office-supply merchants achieved the highest scores due to their “exceptional discoverability, flexible gifting options, and strong integration with consumer preferences,” the study says. Department stores and entertainment rounded out the top five, each with scores of 75%. One area where merchants tend to lag lies in the use of artificial intelligence to drive recommendations to gift card holders. Just 5% of merchants have adopted AI-driven recommendations. Social commerce and promotions also represent untapped opportunities for merchants to improve their gift card programs. Merchants posted an average score for social-media marketing of 2%, and posted a mark of 33% in using gift cards within promotions. #GiftCardTrends #InnovationInRetail 🎁📊 https://lnkd.in/gjnRjyhp

🌿Michigan Cannabis Regulators Considering Vape Recycling Program♻️ Michigan cannabis regulators proposed allowing the state’s cannabis businesses to collect and recycle used vape products. Cannabis regulators in Michigan are proposing allowing the state’s cannabis businesses to collect and recycle used vape products, the Detroit Metro Times reports. Under the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) proposal, state-licensed cannabis businesses could accept used vape cartridges for recycling as long as any “perceptible” concentrate is disposed of first.  CRA Executive Director Brian Hanna told the Metro Times that “The industry brought up protecting the planet and the viability of recycling” vape materials during the two years in which was constructing new rules. In February alone, more than $45 million in vape products were sold through Michigan’s adult-use cannabis market, many of which were disposable pens, the report says. Options for recycling vape products nationwide are slim. Some companies, such as Sauce and Fernway, have enacted recycling programs at their stores. In 2020, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced that it would accept vape devices and cartridges for recycling during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day – as long as they do not contain lithium-ion batteries.  #MichiganCannabis 🌿 #VapeRecycling ♻️ #EcoFriendlyMoves 🌎 #RegulatoryProgress 📜 https://lnkd.in/gfJny5GW

🤝Eye on E-Commerce: Weee! Adds Online SNAP/EBT; Synchrony’s Adobe Commerce Integration!💻 Online Asian grocer Weee! is adding SNAP/EBT acceptance to its site via a partnership with Forage Technology Corp. Inc. while financial services entity Synchrony Financial marks an integration with Adobe Commerce to offer its financial products on merchant Web sites. Fremont, Calif.-based Weee! says its agreement with Forage enables its eligible consumers to use their SNAP/EBT benefits to buy groceries online. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which uses its own electronic benefits transfer payments service. Forage has been part of several integrations, including one with DoorDash and another with Gopuff. Weee!, which ships nationwide, says the SNAP acceptance makes diverse food options available to many. Weee! displays a small SNAP label on eligible products on its Web site. Weee! launched in 2015, and in 2017 shifted to a direct-to-consumer grocery-delivery model. Lightspeed Commerce Inc. is listed as one of its investors. Forage is one of three third-party processors that work with the SNAP program’s online PIN-entry program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fiserv Inc. and Worldpay are the other two, according to the USDA. In related e-commerce news, Synchrony, long known as a private-label card powerhouse, says its integration with Adobe Commerce, an e-commerce platform, enables merchants on that platform to offer Synchrony’s payment products to their customers. This includes Synchrony credit card acceptance and buy now, pay later installment payment options. #ECommerceNews #AdobeIntegration #TechInRetail 🤝 💻 https://lnkd.in/gBrKuY3j