While most canna-businesses are left without access to traditional financial institutions, some Colorado companies are turning to non-traditional enterprises in order to cut down on the number of cash transactions. One such enterprise, the blockchain startup Tokken, is targeting the 75 percent of cannabis businesses operating without bank accounts in Colorado.

Tokken provides an online banking experience, using an indelible blockchain ledger to ensure proprietary compliance and data integrity. Tokken allows app users to link their bank accounts and credit cards and then pay using their online wallet at any dispensary that accepts “Tokkens.” Not only can dispensary customers use the digital currency at retail locations, but dispensary owners could use it to pay their suppliers, employees, and anyone else that has the Tokken app. The Tokkens can be transferred from the app and converted into US dollars.

Lamine Zarrad, Tokken’s founder, suggested that many banks won’t serve the industry because their books are easy to manipulate due to the cash-only nature of the business.