Marijuana banking

Despite a deregulatory push under Trump, cannabis banking remains hindered by legal uncertainty. The path forward under the current administration is not much clearer than under the last, but some cannabis banking experts are cautiously optimistic.

The marijuana fintech's stock price has fallen in recent months amid regulatory uncertainty for cannabis financial services.

Fairfax-based MainStreet Bancshares is pivoting to the niche business as a means to boost its Avenu banking-as-a-service platform, which has failed to hit deposit and revenue targets.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tapped executive compensation and cannabis banking bills as bipartisan priorities that could see movement in the Senate in the "weeks and months ahead."

The new text of the cannabis banking bill includes language that has "papered over" an issue about Operation Choke Point.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2023, introduced in both the House and Senate would allow regulated banks to work with state-legal cannabis companies.

Vermont State Employees Credit Union is attracting new cannabis clients so rapidly that it had to press the pause button to add staff. Another New England lender, Needham Bank, is building its own pot banking business through acquisition.

The Biden administration is poised to put its stamp on the banking regulatory landscape, but there are few slam-dunk solutions that will satisfy both the industry and a vocal Democratic base.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter's pot banking bill would create legal certainty for banks to do business with the legal cannabis industry and reduce the industry’s reliance on cash. 

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the bill’s chief sponsor, said the decision would allow people to “continue to be killed” as cannabis companies’ cash is targeted by crime.

Last reelected by a more than 21-point margin, Ed Perlmutter is now 26th House Democrat to leave Congress rather than endure the 2022 midterms.

Banking industry advocates are urging the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass the National Defense Authorization Act with a provision that includes a safe harbor for financial institutions working with cannabis firms.

Infrastructure will command most of lawmakers’ attention, but expect banks to keep pushing for bills that would ease the transition away from a key benchmark rate and help them serve legal cannabis businesses.

Victor Ngo, 33, has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to JPMorgan Chase when he said his medical marijuana dispensary was a wellness and fitness company.

Congress had been close to passing legislation to help banks serve cannabis firms. Now Democratic leaders have all but abandoned the effort, prioritizing a riskier proposal to decriminalize the drug.

Credit unions have gotten stronger support from their regulators to do business with pot companies, but banking agencies are showing signs of softening just as more states legalize marijuana.

Michael Moeser, senior analyst at PaymentsSource, talks to Dustin Eide, CEO of CanPay, about payments innovation in the legalized cannabis industry.

The 2020 elections buoyed hopes that Congress would finally make it easier for financial institutions to serve cannabis businesses. But Democrats’ push to decriminalize marijuana — a nonstarter for most Republicans — threatens the more targeted effort.

The SAFE Banking Act would prohibit federal banking regulators from penalizing banks and other depository institutions for providing banking services to cannabis businesses. It passed Monday night on a 321-101 bipartisan vote.

The legislation easily passed the House in 2019 but was never considered in the Senate. Observers see a more promising path forward this time.