Cannabis and banks: a nightmare for marijuana entrepreneurs

Although the sale of cannabis is legal in several American states, However, it is still federally prohibited. Banks are not allowed to store cannabis money, and therefore want nothing to do with marijuana dispensaries. Entrepreneurs in the sector are therefore forced to run their entire business in cash, a time-consuming and costly constraint that can prove dangerous for their safety.

The Fourth Corner Credit Union was created to address this issue with the marijuana industry. Backed by a group of lawyers, dispensary owners and legalization advocates, the Union intends to take the place of banks and meet the unique financial needs of the cannabis and hemp industries. It received state approval in November 2014, but is still awaiting the green light from the Federal Reserve. An inexplicable delay when you consider that banks receive their authorization in a matter of weeks. At the end of July, the Fourth Corner was denied access to Federal Insurance, a federal agency that guarantees bank deposits. She has filed two lawsuits in an attempt to overturn this decision.

In Colorado, around 800 recreational coffees have been created since legalization, generating sales of 38 million $ last February. Christian Hageseth decided to run his Denver coffee shop, the Green Man Cannabis, He had been turned away from seven banks in the last six years. «We don't accept credit cards or checks,» he told CNNMoney. Christian Hageseth therefore employs a security company that costs him more than 12,000 $ per month. The company is responsible for collecting his cash and taking it to a secure location in an armored truck. It's high time the legislator took action on this problem», insists Christian Hageseth, who has a real headache paying bills - it's impossible to do so online or by cheque without a bank account - or paying his employees, always in cash.

The US Treasury and Department of Justice have already drafted guidelines for banks with clients in the marijuana industry. In particular, they insist that banks will not be subject to criminal investigations, provided they take certain precautions. Last year, 185 banks and credit unions notified the Treasury that they were working with cannabis businesses. As cannabis is still illegal, the names of these banks are being kept secret.

Esther George, President of the Kansas Fed, met with marijuana professionals in early April. They discussed the difficulties of running a business without access to the traditional banking system. «She clearly understood that there was a problem,» reported Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who along with other legislators has proposed several bills aimed at resolving this aberration. To date, none have been brought to a vote.

One of the solutions chosen by some companies, such as Trees is to accept payments in bitcoin, with a number of advantages: fast, secure, inexpensive and cross-border, so you can pay providers on the other side of the world if you need to.