How Zamnesia maintained stable payment processing in cannabis retail

Key takeaways

• Card acceptance is existential for cannabis retailers. When Zamnesia lost card processing for several months, revenue dropped 30–40%.
• Provider terminations are the rule, not the exception. Before Fibonatix, multiple providers dropped Zamnesia without warning when their risk appetite shifted.
• Card scheme compliance is separate from legal compliance. Visa and Mastercard maintain their own rulebooks for cannabis merchants, independent of local law.
• Proactive communication separates a partner from a vendor. Fibonatix flagged a 3DS issue before Zamnesia's team noticed it, with no revenue impact.

After a significant period of providing payment solutions and support to Zamnesia we decided to conduct the following interview to showcase our relationship with them as a testimonial to our successful partnership and mutual cooperation. Zamnesia is a Dutch e-commerce retailer and Europe's market leader in cannabis seeds and headshop products, now active across sixteen European countries.

We sat down with Nick Ave, the General Manager of Zamnesia, to discuss how a business that has grown significantly over a decade navigates the complex and regulated world of cannabis.

Join us as we explore our relationship with Zamnesia, gain an insider’s look at their growth, their future aspirations, and how payment processing plays a crucial part in it. 

Hello Nick, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your company Zamnesia, and your role?

I’ve been with Zamnesia for over ten years now. I’m the General Manager here. When we started, we were pretty small, just selling a few seeds now and then. But over the years, we’ve worked hard and grown a lot. Today, we’re the top spot for anyone interested in seeds. We run an online shop and provide a lot of information on our website as well.

Can you remember when you first came across Fibonatix and what led you to work with us for your payment processing needs?

I first heard about Fibonatix through a contact of mine. In our industry, it’s tough to find a payment provider you can really rely on. This contact recommended Fibonatix, suggesting we should see if we could work together. After we started the onboarding process and began processing payments, I got to know the team. 

The relationship we have with them and Fiboantix’s top-notch services made us stick with them. Sure, any company might have approachable people, but without the right services to back that up, it wouldn’t work out. It’s the combination of these personal relationships and reliable services that keeps us with Fibonatix.

Reputation is crucial in the cannabis industry. Can you explain how Fibonatix, particularly through your payment services, has influenced your business reputation and customer trust?

Credit card payments are 70% of our transactions. Without this option, we’d be in a tough spot. In fact, we’ve experienced it before; issues with previous providers led to a few months without credit card payments, and we saw a 30% to 40% drop in business. That’s a significant number of customers who walk away dissatisfied because they couldn’t make a purchase the way they wanted.

Keeping the credit card payment option is essential for our reputation. If customers can’t pay by credit card, they either have to go through more effort to pay or, in the worst case, they might just go to a competitor. A smooth payment process is a big part of the customer experience—it can increase purchases and reduce cart abandonment. Working with Fibonatix has meant we can offer that seamless experience and maintain the trust of our customers.

» Don't let a provider termination cost you 30–40% of your revenue. Talk to Fibonatix

Considering the unique regulations within the cannabis industry, how have Fibonatix’s payment solutions enabled you to manage these complexities?

It’s crucial to have a payment provider that not only understands our industry but also stays ahead when it comes to compliance, especially with payment regulations that might differ from other legal guidelines. Our products are entirely legal, yet credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard often have their own set of rules. 

Fibonatix keeps us informed and ensures we adhere to these specific requirements. This attentiveness to regulatory compliance really demonstrates their quality as a payment provider. There are plenty of services out there offering low rates, but they tend to play fast and loose with the rules, which puts the client’s money and reputation at risk. We’ve chosen to work with a provider that prioritises our business’s safety and compliance.

Having worked with us at Fibonatix, can you describe some of the payment challenges you faced before partnering with us?

Certainly. Before we teamed up with Fibonatix, we dealt with a number of payment providers. Even some of the well-known ones ended up backing out on us. They would suddenly lose their appetite for risk and drop us with little more than a “sorry, but we’re changing our policy.” It was a rough spot to be in. 

We needed a partner who knew our industry, reliable and willing to stand by us, potentially for decades. That’s where Fibonatix stepped in. They understand the nature of our business, and they’ve shown they’re in it for the long term. This level of commitment has given us the stability we were looking for.

» Find a payment partner that won't exit the cannabis industry when risk appetite shifts. Start the conversation

Could you tell us how Fibonatix’s solutions have affected your day-to-day operations and discuss any specific challenges Zamnesia has faced during your partnership?

Over the last years, I can say that things have been running very smoothly with Fibonatix, so we haven’t really faced any major challenges. There was a minor issue with a 3DS third party. Even if it was beyond anyone’s control, Fibonatix handled the situation quickly and effectively, with no fallout for us. 

That’s one of the things I really appreciate about working with them—they’re proactive. They let us know about issues promptly, often before we even spot them ourselves.

How critical are fast responses in the time of payment processing outage for your business?

It’s essential. In our business, any downtime in payment processing can be a significant setback.

Given that we operate in the e-commerce space, any delay or interruption in processing payments could lead to lost sales, which can significantly affect our revenue. That is how we maintain our operational integrity and customer trust. 

That’s why we really value how quick Fibonatix is to respond when there’s a problem. It gives us a lot of peace of mind to know we’ve got a partner that takes care of things so fast, so we can keep our focus on our customers and our product.

Based on your experience, what insights or advice would you give to others about working with Fibonatix?

If you’re in the market for a payment provider that values a personal touch and open communication, then Fibonatix is your go-to partner. They’ve really set a high standard for what a business relationship should look like in this space. Of course, in an ideal world, I’d keep them as our little secret, but that’s just not how things work. 

Honestly, any business wanting to ensure smooth payment processes with a provider that listens and responds effectively would do well to consider Fibonatix.

» Build the stable card processing foundation your cannabis business needs. Get in touch

Disclaimer: Fibonatix is a UK-based, FCA-regulated payment service provider (FRN 768776) specialising in merchant accounts for B2C businesses globally, but B2B exclusively to the UK and EEA. Verify our regulatory status on the FCA Financial Services Register.