HONOLULU- Hawaii says it will be the first state to have marijuana sales handled without cash.

State officials said Tuesday that medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to let people use a debit payment app.

The app is already an option for marijuana transactions in six states, including California and Colorado.

The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs says it would like to eliminate cash to avoid robberies.

Many marijuana businesses use cash because banks fear pot money could expose them to legal trouble from the U.S. government. Federal officials regulate banking and still ban pot.

The debit app called CanPay uses a Colorado-based credit union to facilitate transactions. Some mainland credit unions have opened accounts for cannabis businesses.