PAYMENT OPTIONS

The world of cannabis payments is dynamic, and we work hard to always ensure that we balance customer convenience with what’s safe, secure, and compliant. SPARC currently offers customers three payment options:

  • PAY ONLINE NOW — Fast, cashless and convenient, a simple, one-time sign up allows you to electronically transfer funds from your bank account to prepay for your purchase. Prepay uses ACH (electronic bank-to-bank payments) technology, which directly debits your bank account. Available for all website orders, just choose ‘Prepay / Pay Online Now’ at checkout. As of April 8th, there’s a flat $3 fee per transaction.
  • DEBIT – Our debit system functions like a stand alone ATM. Our system will round up to the nearest $5 increment and our staff will provide you the difference back in cash. The transaction will post as an ATM withdrawal on your account. This payment form is only offered in-store
  • CASH — Cash is accepted at all of our locations, and most locations have an ATM on-site. There’s no fee for paying with cash, and works for both in-store and delivery orders.

Payment options vary by location — See our Locations page for details, or review the checkout details screen before placing your order to see a list of payment options available at that location. Unfortunately, due to federal banking regulations, we do not accept credit card payments at this time.

Look for the Pay Online Now option when you reach the checkout page. New users will first connect their bank account by logging in with their account info. Your information will be securely stored so payment can be made instantly on future orders. Payments is provided through Swifter/TreezPay.

Running into issues? Check to make sure the payment platform is working correctly here. Our Customer Success team is available by chat in the lower-right corner of your screen, or by submitting an email to support@sparc.co.

$3 flat fee per transaction. Your bank will not apply an additional fee.

faq

Do I link my bank account every time I make a purchase?

No, Swifter securely saves your information so you can quickly and safely make a payment from the checking account you’ve already linked. You will get an email confirmation and a receipt after every order has been placed and processed.

What if I want to de-link my bank account and add another one?

No problem – you can easily deauthorize or de-link the bank account you are currently using. You can then add another bank account if you’d like to continue using Swifter. You can add multiple bank accounts to Swifter as well.

How does tipping work?

If you add a tip when prompted, at this time it will not appear on the order summary page or email receipt. However, it will appear as a line item on the receipt you receive during pickup or delivery.

The order total and tip are combined into a single transaction on your bank statement.

Is my banking information secure?

Yes, Swifter does not have access to your login details or your password. They use a highly trusted, market-leading, third-party service provider who securely links Swifter to your bank account without revealing your bank account login information to anyone.

I’m getting an error telling me that my transaction has timed out.

If you do not complete your order within a certain period of time, Swifter takes steps to prevent malicious usage of your information. As a result, you may see a time-out error screen. Don’t worry if you see this screen – no money will be deducted from your bank. Please try placing the order again!

Step 1

Agree to Plaid’s End User Privacy Policy.

Step 2

Enter your phone number to receive a verification code.

Step 3

Enter the verification code.

Step 4

Select you financial institution.

Step 5

Link you bank account.

Step 6

Select the ‘Pay’ button to place your order.

Use any Debit card to pay

  • $3 fee per transaction
  • Offered in-store

Accepted at all of our locations, and most locations have an ATM on-site.

  • There is no fee for paying with cash
  • Available for online, in-store and delivery orders

STATE & LOCAL TAXES

Taxes on cannabis help fund the regulation of the cannabis market, but they also drive up prices in the legal market and consequentially drive up demand in the illegal market. And based on how the regulations are written, there are several cannabis taxes throughout the supply chain. Trust us, we like them even less than you do; but while we don’t make the rules, we do need to follow them. At SPARC, our goal is to provide you with as much transparency as possible to the taxes that you’re paying on cannabis goods:

  • Cultivation Tax — Baked into the cost of every cannabis product is a cultivation tax that’s paid when the cultivator transfers raw cannabis product to distributors. This is not an individual line item on your SPARC receipt, but we do want to make you aware of it because you’re still effectively paying it.
  • Excise Tax — A value added tax (VAT) that’s based on the wholesale price of the individual SKU and assumes a certain mark-up percentage set by regulators on a periodic basis. While it’s rare, the wholesale price and/or the mark-up percentage of individual SKUs can vary, causing the Excise Tax for those SKUs to vary as well. It is for this reason we label Excise Tax as ‘Expected Excise Tax’ for customers who order online; the actual Excise Tax can only be calculated when the specific SKU for your order is selected.
  • Sales Tax — The same as the sales tax that you would pay for many other goods and services. Medical customers with a valid MMID card are exempt from paying this tax.
  • Local Taxes — Local jurisdictions have the power to add additional taxes as they see fit. In Santa Rosa, for example, there is a 3% city tax applied to all cannabis sales (in addition to all of the other taxes).

State taxes are set by the State of California and the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC). Click here to read more about their policies and tax rules. We encourage you to reach out to your State and local representatives; click here to find your representatives. A more streamlined cannabis tax system would benefit you, SPARC, and the whole legal cannabis community.

PAYMENTS & FEDERAL CANNABIS POLICY

While the State of California has make big strides towards advancing cannabis policy, the federal government lags behind. The biggest example of this is the lack of access to banking in the cannabis industry.  This impacts SPARC as an operator, but it also impacts you as a customer. In order to advance cannabis policy at the federal level, we support the following bills. Both measures would significantly help advance banking access in the cannabis industry, which would benefit not only you and SPARC, but the whole cannabis community.

SAFE BANKING ACT

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act is proposed legislation that effectively providing cannabis operators with the same access to banking services as other industries.

STATES ACT

The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act is proposed legislation that that would, at the federal level, recognize the legalization of cannabis and the state laws that govern cannabis in states where cannabis has been legalized.

To vocalize your support for this legislation and cannabis legislation more broadly, we also encourage you to make your voice heard by contacting your federal representatives. Click here to find your House Representative and click here to find your Senators. We’re all in this fight together — thank you for doing your part to pave the future of cannabis policy!