Holistic Industries, the largest private multi-state operator in cannabis, announced the launch of Liberty Wallet, the cannabis industry’s first cashless payment and rewards app designed specifically around patients’ and customers’ needs. Liberty, Holistic’s retail arm, is the first cannabis retailer to join the ranks of forward-thinking companies like Starbucks with a sophisticated solution to payments, messaging and rewards that truly benefit the customer.
“We take our mission to be the best place to work, shop and invest in cannabis seriously, and Liberty Wallet gives customers one more very compelling reason to shop with us,” said John Brown, CIO/CTO of Holistic Industries. “ Every loyalty program you see is all about trying to get the customer loyal to the business but we built Liberty Wallet so we can be loyal to the customer as well.”
Other technologies have been developed for the industry for cashless payments, but they provide no incentive to consumers other than not having to carry cash. With Liberty Wallet, people get money back in the form of credits for simply using it. Liberty customers can download the Liberty Wallet app for free and connect it to their bank to purchase credits. The customer experience includes:
- Transfer funds from the customer’s bank into Liberty Wallet. These funds become credits the customer can use at any Liberty location.
- Use credits in Liberty Wallet. These include credits transferred from the customer’s bank and free credits earned from previous purchases.
- Find the nearest Liberty location or set your home store as a preference.
- Check inventory at any Liberty location.
- View transaction history including purchases, transfers and credits earned.
For first-time users for a limited time, Liberty Wallet will add 20 percent in credits to the customer’s account just by transferring money and then, depending on how much a customer spends on an ongoing basis, they get a percentage back (from 1% – 25%) every time they redeem credits at Liberty. Additionally, there are three levels of perks when customers spend $250, $500, and $750 in a month. Perks, which vary month to month and can vary by location, are tracked by Liberty Wallet, which shows a customer’s progress towards different perks monthly.
“In an increasingly competitive market, we really thought about how we could distinguish ourselves so customers would choose to shop with us and found we could do that through technology and innovation,” added Brown. “We are providing a safe and secure way for cannabis consumers to get the most out of their shopping experience at Liberty.”
Holistic Industries believes that cannabis consumers should be able to buy products without having to carry cash or pay an ATM fee at a dispensary, but due to Federal prohibition, that’s been nearly impossible. During COVID, Holistic Industries prioritized the development of a platform that would keep customers and employees safe by allowing for cashless transactions. At the same time, the company needed to tackle the regulatory hurdles associated with communicating directly with customers through SMS or social media. Liberty Wallet gives customers the ability to pay with their phone, enables Liberty to message customers directly about deals and promotions, and demonstrates the company’s loyalty to their customers through an industry-leading rewards program.
With over $300,000 in credit purchases since the app became available, Liberty Wallet is growing in popularity with Liberty customers in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and soon in Missouri and West Virginia. Liberty Wallet is a proprietary platform built in-house under the leadership of the company’s CIO/CTO, John Brown. With over thirty years of experience working in the tech industry, Brown’s background in banking and regulatory compliance, as well as his passion for providing access to cannabis to everyone who needs it, fueled the development of Liberty Wallet.
Liberty Wallet is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
