This is a very hot topic at this moment for me as a professional Banking Compliance Officer (not a lawyer). As such I never advise anyone to lie, or be untruthful with your institution. There are banks/credit unions/foreign banks willing to accept you, but you need to present properly.
I’ve been getting requests for my Cannabis specific risk management program from institutions (mainly smaller state banks and credit unions) nationwide for 2 years now, but recently have been getting more calls directly from cultivators, collectives, and dispensaries requesting help with the following goals:
Provide the industry with a level of sophistication and professional banking relationship management to help obtain institutional banking services. Using my Bank Compliance Credentials, and knowledge of inner workings of back-offices.
Provide ongoing support and audit-type services to provide comfort in the operations to stakeholders.
This translates to:
Local Banking Availability survey targeted search, and relationship building
Develop a MRB Compliance Program / Risk Assessment and Banking Business Case
Provide periodic audit type services of the MRB compliance program to let owners/managers/banks know that they are compliant. Coming from my firm, and backed by my credentials and professional certifications.
I believe in transparency, and making the bank’s compliance officer (what I was for 10+ years) as easy as possible to accept you, and keep you as a customer without them getting in trouble!
Thats wild I have a personal account with Chase as does my Marketing Company but I have a few Weednerd friends that work at Chase and they wont let me open an account for TGAgenetics.
This is especially tricky as I have to establish a business to even get my cert of occupancy.
I have like 35K reported to the IRS in Show income and I have yet to be able to deposit this to establish the business.
I have to make a few trys next week and a few Credit unions I’ll check back in after I do.
I like the “public safety” approach. California has always led in cannabis regulation and has had great success…I think we will finally see some progress and legitimate solutions in this problematic sector for cannabis when rec comes to this state. Nice read.
Agreed - much safer if people aren’t having to store and transport loads of cash. Plus better for accurate taxation if there are banking record rather than bundles of cash that can easily disappear.
We use Salal Credit Union. They accept marijuana accounts. We pay a monthly fee of $250.00 and have to maintain a minimum daily balance of $2500.00, but it is worth it, especially when it comes to paying your taxes!
Careful there. Credit unions require a sponsoring bank in order for the credit union to be licensed. Credit Union require both a state and federal charter. The sponsor bank is responsible for all ACH transactions of the credit union. The ACH is part of the federal reserve system.
The sponsoring bank is also responsible for all deposits of the credit union. The Fed, the FDIC reguraly audits the transaction of the sponsoring bank in regards to credit unions. It is one of the tools the FBI uses in monitoring wire transactions in money laundering.
I have written a lot of payroll transmittal files that must meet the ACH standard. They even have specifications for a death notification transaction. This puts holds on all bank accounts of member organizations. It is what gets the feds moving so quickly on some veterans servivors benifits. My dad was not dead 36 hours when military life insurance purchase in 1953 payed out my mother 500 dollars.
You can find out more about credit unions and there reporting requirements at Cuna Mutal they are the credit union of credit unions.
What about a state charatered bank in each of the legalizied states? You could create what used to be called a state cooperative bank. It was common in agricultural communities. They are not part of the federal reserve system.
cannabis banking option in USA
Cannabis Banking and Merchant Services are now available for state regulated cannabis businesses! Eaton Financial Solutions, as an authorized marketing agent, is now extending this invitation to state compliant, regulated cannabis businesses who deal directly with the delta 9 THC product (sorry, it is not offered to hemp businesses or those doing e-commerce at this time). This invitation is being offered here in the USA, as well as to businesses abroad, who are compliant with their local and national laws. To accept this invitation, or to learn more, please contact Eaton Financial Solutions directly, via email, at cannabisbankinginfo.efs@gmail.com.
That is really good news. I think a smaller bank chain could theoretically position itself to springboard with legalization occurring in so many places… if only the political climate were more stable.
