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As if starting a new business wasn’t difficult enough, many business owners find themselves struggling to secure payment processing services for their businesses due to the uncertainties within their industry and the risks they take on. One example is the emerging vaping industry, which has been met with controversy but is a clear disruption to the tobacco industry. A big problem small businesses in this market are facing is finding reliable, reputable payment processing providers for the products and services they offer. Having the ability to accept credit card payments, online payments, mobile payments in their stores and on their websites is absolutely crucial for this new industry that is creating innovative, and many argue safer, new products to customers around the world.
With all of the advancements in technology over the past decade, it’s hard to find an area of our lives that has not been modernized in some way. From new ways of communicating to the way consumers pay for goods and services, businesses are harnessing the power of technology to create new products and make transactions seamless and easier for their customers. But these new innovations sometimes come with a catch. Services and products in developing industries are surrounded by a lot of uncertainty within the marketplace, and many business owners struggle to secure merchant processing services due to the high-risk associated with their industries.
Although many people find vaping to be a healthier alternative to smoking, the industry is considered high-risk because many states and localities are treating it like tobacco. An industry is considered high-risk when it meets one of two conditions: the first is that it operates in an industry that is controversial, or prone to health concerns. The other condition is the probability that the business is prone to financial failure. Financial institutions and merchant processors are less likely to provide services for companies in new industries because they don’t have the longevity as others with more established markets and are subjected to more investigation and legislation than others. But, industries like these still need reliable and secure payment processing services to help their businesses survive and succeed. As you can imagine, many vape companies struggle to find a credit card processor and payment processing solutions because of the risks these businesses take on, even though many believe the products and services they offer are healthier alternatives to traditional smoking practices.
As a result, many vape companies are looking for Stripe and Paypal alternatives, as they do not provide services to vaping companies. In fact, businesses who sell vape devices and accessories will have their services blocked and put on hold for selling such items. Vape businesses who need to be able to accept credit card payments in their stores, receive online payments, mobile payments, and other important merchant processing services often times find themselves struggling to find a reliable and legitimate service provider to do so. At Pinpoint Payments, we offer merchant processing solutions to vaping companies who have be turned away from other payment processing providers.
Because of the challenges this market faces, the vaping industry is under attack from big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies who are using their power to decimate the new alternative to smoking. Millions of people around the world are turning to vaping devices to cut their dependency on smoking tobacco and avoid further risks to their health, such as cancer causing tars and other additives found in cigarettes. While this may seem like a positive new development, it causes a huge threat to big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, who make enormous profits by working together to get people addicted to their products and then sell them high-priced smoking cessation drugs – that usually don’t even work.
Vaping devices are handheld vaporizers that allow users to simulate the experience of smoking a cigarette by heating a liquid, which often times contains nicotine, within the vaporizer and allowing the user to inhale and exhale the vapor, mimicking the act of a traditional smoking ritual. They key difference between traditional smoking and vaping is that the liquid used in vaping does not contain the harmful, toxic additives found in tobacco. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain over 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. While there is some uncertainty about the chemicals found within vaping devices, Michael Blaha, M.D., M.P.H., director of clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease says, “there’s almost no doubt that they expose you to fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes.” While often times the liquid used in the vaping device does contain nicotine, an addictive chemical, many do not. Many users are attracted to vaping because of the similar experience to smoking tobacco they get by using a vaping device, but with fewer risks than traditional tobacco smoking.
Nearly 7 out of 10 smokers say they want to cut back or stop smoking altogether. Quitting smoking tobacco is one of the best things you can do for your health as traditional smoking methods harm nearly every organ in your body with the toxic additives they contain, most notably the lungs and heart. Nearly one-third of deaths from heart disease are the result of smoking and secondhand smoke. Vaping, a recent invention by a Chinese pharmacist in 2004, was created as a solution to a major health crisis posed to millions of smokers around the world as a way to ease the transition from traditional cigarettes to not smoking at all and to lessen the health risks of those who wanted to continue the habit. As the popularity of the invention spread, many companies have embraced this healthy alternative, offering smokers a way to reduce the risks of smoking tobacco without having to quit “cold turkey.” Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge that smokeless devices “have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.”
Users who have made the switch from smoking tobacco to vaping report many positive advantages over smoking such as the absence of second-hand smoke, significant health-risk reduction, providing oral satisfaction and elimination of odor from their homes, automobiles, clothes and personal effects. A large amount of users also enjoy the communal aspect which has sprung up in communities around the world for those who have chosen to ditch traditional tobacco and embrace vaping. Additional benefits that have been reported are increased sensory experiences with food, the reduction of chest pains and shortness of breath, better athletic performance, increased productivity in daily life at work and in school, whiter teeth, no weight gain from quitting smoking, and the ability to vape in places where smoking is prohibited.
Despite all of these positive reasons for the vaping industry to gain popularity, there have been major obstacles set in place by big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies who view the vaping industry as a threat to their dangerous, multi-billion-dollar monopoly on smokers. As a result, they are using their money to invest in lobby’s in Washington to pass laws and regulations that are threatening the very existence of vaping. Millions of dollars are being spent to spread misinformation about nicotine, increased regulation on a healthier alternative, higher taxation on vapes, banning online sales, biased science, usage bans, and legal age increases.
The vapor industry is now under serious attack, and users around the globe are rallying to fight back against the big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies. Millions of smokers have discovered that vaping, especially vaping nicotine, is a life-saving alternative to traditional smoking. While users admit to their dependency on nicotine, they believe their addiction started years before healthier alternatives such as vaping were created, and blame their being hooked to the chemical on the tobacco manufacturers who add unnatural amounts of nicotine and harmful toxins and other additives to the tobacco. Developments in the vaping industry allows former smokers to control and reduce their addiction, enjoy the process of cutting back, and end nicotine dependency completely if they so choose. Companies like Save The Vape have launched campaigns to combat the regulations backed by big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies that are aimed to eliminate the vaping industry.
At Pinpoint Payments, we support innovation within the marketplace, and are members of Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA), and are constantly searching for new ways to provide solutions to our customers and help small businesses like those within the vape industry succeed. We believe everyone has the right to a reputable merchant processing service, regardless of what industry you are operating in. We proudly serve vape businesses who have had difficulties securing merchant processing services from companies like Paypal or Stripe, and have helped them succeed within the industry by handling all of their payment processing needs. If you have questions about how Pinpoint Payments can help your business accept credit card payments, online payments, or have any additional merchant processing questions, contact us today.