A business-to-business cannabis platform has entered the New Mexico market, offering local establishments the ability to make payments electronically.
LeafLink, founded in 2016, offers a system for businesses to sell to one another — mainly giving manufacturers and producers a way to connect with retailers for the wholesale of cannabis products such as flower, concentrates and edibles.
“We were really excited by the prospect of the size of the market,” Claire Moloney, LeafLink’s VP of business operations, told the Journal. “We know that a lot of the sales (in New Mexico) are driven by tourism from surrounding states that don’t have programs, and so we’re excited by the growth potential.”
Moloney said the company already has three licensed producers and manufacturers — Everest Cannabis Co., Mountaintop Extracts and Vitality Extracts — on the site that dispensaries can purchase from.
She said nearly 70 dispensaries have signed on since the launch. And the company expects even more dispensaries, producers and manufacturers as the industry chugs forward.
The company utilizes automated clearing house payments on the platform for businesses collecting payments, Moloney said, which helps take the risk out of dealing with cash and credit card payments.
“We saw people moving cash, which is obviously a pretty dangerous business,” she said. “And so that’s when … the idea (came) to start LeafLink.”
The company, based in New York and with offices in Los Angeles and Austin, first launched its platform in Colorado. It has since expanded into 25 other markets, Moloney said, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
LeafLink processed about $5 billion in orders last year, the company said. And Moloney said the company processes on average $4.7 billion in orders annually since its launch in 2016.
“We know that New Mexico will be a $400 million plus adult-use market within the next five years,” Moloney said.
Editor’s note: A LeafLink executive provided an incorrect figure when referencing the number of dispensaries on its platform. This story has been updated with the correct number.
