Block Inc's Square enters Canadian pot market with Jane Technologies as partner

High Tide

20/09/2023 12:00

By Sourasis  Bose
       Sept 20 (Reuters) - Square, a unit of fintech company
Block Inc  SQ.N , said on Wednesday it would enter the Canadian
cannabis market through a partnership with e-commerce platform
Jane Technologies.
    The payments processing firm — founded by Jack Dorsey,
co-founder of Twitter (now known as X) — said it would launch an
early access program in the Ontario province for licensed
dispensaries to test its retail point-of-sale offerings.
    Those who sign-up with Square for payments systems in
physical stores would also be able to use Jane's platform for
selling their products online, the companies said.
    Jane had entered Canada by partnering pot firm High Tide
 HITI.V  in 2021.
    "We are focusing on one province first as we want to take
the time to get it right and then expand on something that is
stable," Roshan Jhunja, head of retail at Square, told Reuters.
    Despite strong growth initially following legalization of
pot in Canada in 2018, the country's cannabis industry faces
intense competition from cheaper marijuana that is sourced
illegally.
    The goal for the companies is to provide a platform to the
sellers to make their products nearly as accessible as the
illicit market, Jane CEO Socrates Rosenfeld told Reuters.
    Last month, U.S. health officials had recommended easing
restrictions on marijuana, the first step towards wider
legalization in one of the biggest cannabis markets in the
world.
    Rosenfeld said when regulations would allow for it, Jane is
prepared to move this partnership beyond Canadian borders.

 (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com;))