Cannabis Banking
House Votes YES on the SAFE Banking Act!
The SAFE Banking Act will protect financial institutions and the communities they serve by:
- Making our communities safer
- Providing a safe harbor for financial institutions
- Ensuring state-sanctioned businesses have access to mainstream financial systems
However, the fight isn’t over yet. While the House voted YES on the SAFE Banking Act, we are calling on the Senate to act now to bring legal businesses out of the underground economy.
Where Is the Money Today?
Currently 33 states, territories and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis in one form or another. Due to discrepancies between state and federal law, legal cannabis businesses are forced to operate almost entirely in cash, with very little access to financial services. This leaves thousands of dollars in backroom safes, transported in shoe boxes and backpacks, creating a prime target for crime. By closing this legal loophole and allowing credit unions to apply rigorous screening and compliance protocols to these legal businesses, Congress will help hundreds of communities get cash off the streets, provide thorough anti-money laundering review and support small businesses from coast to coast.
What’s at Stake?
Unlike other legal business operators, cannabis-related businesses do not have equal access to financial services. Credit unions that provide cannabis banking use rigorous screening and compliance protocols to appropriately monitor and maintain high-risk accounts, but they still face significant legal risks. They need Congress to provide a safe harbor.
The legal uncertainty between state and federal law must be resolved to bring cannabis-related businesses into mainstream financial services. Cannabis banking legislation would protect financial institutions and the communities they serve.
What We’ve Told Lawmakers and Regulators
- CUNA Provides Feedback to Chairman Crapo on Cannabis Banking
- On February 7, CUNA wrote to Chairman Crapo to provide feedback on how to address the challenges that currently plague banking the cannabis industry. Read the letter here.
- Joint Trade Letter Sent to Senate Banking Committee Leadership In Support of Safe Banking
- On December 12, CUNA joined a number of trade associations in sending a letter to Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Brown in support of the SAFE Banking Act. As a national, diverse, multi-sector collection of broad stakeholders impacted by the legal cannabis industry in the U.S., we request that you bring H.R. 1595, the SAFE Banking Act before the Committee. Read the letter here
- Pross Testimony Before the Senate Banking Committee
- On July 23, Rachel Pross of Maps Credit Union in Oregon will testify before the Senate Banking Committee for their hearing entitled, "Challenges for Cannabis and Banking: Outside Perspectives.” Read her testimony!