Is it finally over? Did we learn anything?

As this most remarkable year yields to the holiday season and the inevitable tick of the universal clock, I feel we have reached the point in this very long year to look back and assess.  And assess we should because that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.  And this has been a killer year by any measure.

First of all, WE, that is to say, you and MORPHIS are still here.  More than that, WE are more vital than ever.  Overall, COVID lockdowns made our team and our customers closer. Some people didn’t escape the virus, but every person survived.

Not all of our customers were so lucky. The virus shuttered a couple and wounded more than a few of our oldest and most loyal customers.  We were all wounded, but we rallied around each other.  Together we supported each other’s newly found needs and, in the end, learned to pull together to get through a crisis that was, and still is,  a complete unknown.

Despite this year’s turmoil, uncertainty, and otherwise best efforts to hamper our individual and collective progress, 2020 has not proved to be indomitable. By and large, all of our customers are not just back, but back bigger, better, and faster than ever.  Not only our customers, but Morphis also has found many new customers, post lockdown, across all business segments.

Early this month, US voters added five new states to the Legalized Marijuana list. These recruits bring to thirty-four the total number of American states where the legal sale of Marijuana is black and white, but the legal-banking of the cash is decidedly gray.

Enter innovative technology and some start-ups looking for new growth. The market has responded with a new generation of smart safes that process more notes faster with the added security of machine sealed bags perfecting the chain of custody.  To sell, service, and maintain these new devices is a raft of new CIT start-ups focused on serving the cash processing and handling needs of the Cannabis industry and rapidly emerging Crypto Kiosk business.

Speaking of which, the Crypto Kiosk or BitCoin ATM segment is a rocketship, whose margins and growth remind me of the ATM hockey stick 25 years ago, with a 250% increase in the US-installed base in the last 12 months!  With many new operators joining the fray, next year’s growth will be more significant still.

So, “Is it finally over?” I’m afraid not. At this writing, COVID seems to be resurging, and even though the curtain appears to have closed on the election, the house lights are still on, patiently waiting for a straggling crowd to depart.

And patience is undoubtedly the lesson we were taught by 2020. 

So, did we learn anything?