eli5: why in the state of California, when you buy from a dispensary with a debit card, do they give you cash back?

Question

i’m from an illegal state, so i go to a dispensary and i pay with my debit card and they handed me some cash back. why is that?

In: 0

Answer 1

In some situations, since dispensaries can’t process card transactions as banks don’t like dealing with illegal transactions, dispensaries mimic ATM transactions: you’re essentially withdrawing cash at the point of sale, and using some of it to pay for the goods, and the excess is returned.