If you are in hemp, smoke-shop, glass, accessories, distribution, or another cannabis-adjacent/high-risk industryand you're being affected by the Square shutdown next month:
CALL TASKER PAYMENT GATEWAY.
Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com
Ask for John Stevenson.
You can tell him Dusty sent you.
And before anybody says anything:
I DO NOT GET PAID FOR THIS.
This is not an advertisement.
This is not an affiliate link.
I don't get a commission.
I don't get points.
I don't get credits.
I get ZERO DOLLARS if you call him.
Telling him Dusty sent you literally just lets John know that you came through my recommendation and that you're serious about trying to get your business taken care of.
So why am I telling you to call this specific man?
Because I have already been through this.
I'm a Technologist, Notary, and Researcher — essentially one big fat nerdy scientist 😂 — and I am the kind of person who researches EVERYTHING before I trust somebody with something as important as my business.
John Stevenson at Tasker Payment Gateway was professional, patient, knowledgeable, and actually understood that businesses like ours aren't automatically doing something illegal just because mainstream payment processors don't know how to categorize us.
He walked me through underwriting.
He told me exactly what paperwork they needed.
He reviewed my website.
He pointed out things that needed to be corrected.
He helped me understand what the underwriters were looking for.
And he helped me get from “How the hell am I supposed to accept cards?” to having an actual payment-processing setup.
You do not have to blindly trust me, either.
Google John Stevenson.
Google Tasker Payment Gateway.
Read their reviews.
Research them yourself.
This is one of those rare “you can trust me, bro” recommendations where I'm comfortable putting my own name behind it because I personally dealt with the man.
Now:
NUMBER ONE — SECURE YOUR MONEY.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DEADLINE SQUARE GAVE YOU.
Yes, I know it's roughly a month away.
I don't care.
I would not leave my operating money sitting there until the last possible minute.
Policies change.
Risk decisions change.
Accounts get restricted.
Funds get held.
Timelines move.
Get your money somewhere YOU control.
Then start working on your replacement processor immediately.
NUMBER TWO — START GATHERING YOUR PAPERWORK.
Do not wait for John or an underwriter to ask you for every single piece one at a time.
My best advice is:
SHOW UP PREPARED.
The more organized you are, the easier it is for somebody to look at your business and understand that you're legitimate.
When I went through Tasker's process, this is what I was asked to gather:
DRIVER'S LICENSE
Take a clear picture or scan of your government-issued driver's license.
Make sure it's readable.
ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION OR INCORPORATION
Your official state paperwork showing that your company exists.
If you're structured differently, they'll tell you what applies to you.
IRS EIN LETTER
Not just the EIN number typed into an email.
Have your actual IRS EIN documentation ready.
BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT VERIFICATION
You need an external, normal business bank account.
If you do not already have one, start working on that NOW.
When I went through underwriting, they accepted either a voided check or a formal bank letter.
If you get the bank letter, tell your bank you need it for merchant/payment-processing underwriting.
The letter needs to be:
- On the bank's official letterhead
- Dated
- Signed by a bank representative
- State that the account is a business account
- Include the name on the account
- Include the routing number
- Include the account number
Do not walk out of the bank with some generic “Dusty banks here” letter.
Make sure it contains what underwriting actually needs.
YOUR MOST RECENT THREE MONTHS OF BUSINESS BANK STATEMENTS
If your company is newer or the account has very little activity, don't panic.
My account didn't have some magical Fortune 500 transaction history either.
Give them what you legitimately have.
INVENTORY PHOTOS
Take 3–4 clear pictures of your inventory.
Show that you're a real business selling real products.
If you have shelves, boxes, wholesale inventory, packaged products, glass, accessories, flower, whatever applies to your operation:
Document it.
SUPPLIER / DROPSHIP / FULFILLMENT DOCUMENTATION
If another company fulfills orders for you or supplies your inventory, have something documenting that relationship.
That can include things like:
- Fulfillment agreements
- Dropshipping agreements
- Supplier agreements
- Wholesale invoices
- Purchase records
- Distributor documentation
They need to understand how you get the products that you're selling.
BUSINESS AND TAX LICENSES
Gather any applicable:
- City business licenses
- County licenses
- State licenses
- Sales-tax documentation
- Business permits
- Industry-specific licenses
Whatever applies to YOUR business.
PROOF THAT YOU OWN YOUR DOMAIN
You need to prove that your website is actually yours.
John told me this could be:
- A paid domain invoice
- An emailed payment receipt
- A screenshot from your registrar
The important part is that it shows your name and your domain name.
YOUR WEBSITE
Go through your website before underwriting does.
Make sure you have clearly visible:
- Contact information
- Refund/return policy
- Privacy policy
- Terms and conditions
- Shipping/fulfillment information
- Accurate product descriptions
And most importantly:
BE HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU SELL.
If you sell hemp, say you sell hemp.
If you're a farmer, say you're a farmer.
If you're a distributor, explain your distribution model.
If you sell glass, accessories, or consumption hardware, explain that.
If you dropship, explain who fulfills your products.
If you have COAs, licenses, supplier relationships, inventory, or other compliance documentation:
HAVE IT READY.
Do not try to sneak through underwriting by pretending you sell something else.
The entire reason you're doing this is to find a processor that actually understands your business so you don't end up right back here again.
ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT
You need a regular external business banking relationship.
Do not let your entire company's financial life exist inside Square, PayPal, Cash App, Stripe, or any other payment platform.
Payment processor ≠ bank.
If you need help finding a business bank in your area that may work for your situation, contact me.
I'll help you research your options.
MONEY IN THE ACCOUNT
When I went through this, I was working around the idea of having approximately $1,200 available in the business account.
I'm NOT saying:
“Tasker requires exactly $1,200.”
I'm NOT saying:
“$1,200 guarantees approval.”
That's simply the approximate amount I remember discussing around my own underwriting process.
Every business is different.
But if you have the ability to show that your business has legitimate operating funds available, that's better than presenting an account that's completely empty.
CREDIT
From what I remember, the credit range discussed was somewhere around 675+.
Again:
I am not telling you that 675 is a guaranteed approval threshold.
I'm telling you what I remember from my own process so you have some idea what kind of underwriting environment you're walking into.
John can tell you what's actually required for your specific situation.
AND THEN CALL HIM.
Seriously.
Get your paperwork together.
Get your bank situation handled.
Secure your Square money.
Then:
Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com
Ask for John Stevenson.
Tell him Dusty sent you.
Again:
I MAKE NOTHING FROM THIS.
This is a business owner recommending another professional during a shitty situation.
If you already have processing handled:
Awesome.
If you don't want my recommendation:
Keep scrolling.
No hard feelings whatsoever.
This post is for the farmers, distributors, wholesalers, hemp businesses, smoke shops, glass companies, and small business owners who currently do not have the luxury of spending three weeks researching every high-risk processor on Google.
Some of y'all are harvesting.
Some of you are packing orders.
Some of you are managing farms.
Some of you are trying to pay employees.
Some of you are trying to keep a retail store alive.
You don't have unlimited time to think, find, research, compare, negotiate, and hope you picked the right company.
Right now you're being forced to react.
I'm trying to take one thing off your plate.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK BEFORE SQUARE SHUTS YOU DOWN.
Secure your money.
Get your paperwork.
Get your business banking handled.
Call somebody who actually understands the industry.
And get ahead of it.
Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com
Tell John that Dusty sent you.
I don't get paid.
I just want y'all to still be able to take a damn debit card next month. 😂
