{"id":8906,"date":"2020-02-03T22:19:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T22:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=3888045"},"modified":"2020-02-03T22:19:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T22:19:08","slug":"colorado-unveils-plan-to-help-bring-banking-to-states-cannabis-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-unveils-plan-to-help-bring-banking-to-states-cannabis-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado unveils plan to help bring banking to state\u2019s cannabis industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-unveils-plan-to-help-bring-banking-to-states-cannabis-industry\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/colorado-unveils-plan-to-help-bring-banking-to-states-cannabis-industry.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/02\/03\/colorado-cannabis-industry-banking\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"3888045\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With federal banking still out of reach, Gov. Jared Polis unveiled new strategies Monday to entice Colorado banks, credit unions and money transmitters to work with cannabis companies and become leaders in providing financial services to marijuana and hemp businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Polis\u2019s plan renews the state\u2019s commitment to creating a regulatory landscape that affords cannabis businesses access to services widely available to other legal industries, while offering financial institutions support to navigate the industry\u2019s federal grey area.<\/p>\n<p>Because marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law, Colorado\u2019s dispensaries, cultivations and other businesses have been prohibited from obtaining conventional financial services, such as lines of credits or loans, and the ability to accept credit cards.<\/p>\n<p>Federally, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act aims to open up those opportunities for legal businesses in states where medical and recreational marijuana is available. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/09\/25\/us-house-pot-business-banking\/\">The bill passed the House of Representatives<\/a> in September and is currently being discussed by a Senate committee. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/01\/22\/safe-banking-act-representatives-letter\/\">Legislators are hopeful<\/a> it will be put up for a vote sometime in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Until then, Colorado has to \u201can obligation\u201d to make headway, Polis said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lack of banking opportunities and access to other financial services in Colorado really poses both an economic threat and a public safety threat,\u201d Polis said at a news conference. \u201cColorado has been a leader in regulating cannabis and this is another step in the right direction, in this case for money to be out of the shadows, out of the cash market and into our conventional financial services sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Currently, just \u201ca handful\u201d of banks and credit unions work with the state\u2019s marijuana companies, said Patty Salazar, executive director of the Department of Regulatory Agencies. The governor hopes to increase the number of institutions by identifying the hurdles to becoming involved in this facet of the industry, providing guidance to regulations currently in place \u2014 such as suspicious activity reporting \u2014 and developing innovative policies to promote progress in this sector.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>\u201cState-chartered financial institutions are state-based, community-focused institutions, and at the core of their mission is to provide quality, affordable financial services that meet the needs of our Colorado communities,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cThis roadmap is the commitment from the state of Colorado to clear the road for those who wish to serve in the space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/01\/20\/denver-marijuana-burglaries-increase\/\">Burglary is the most common crime at marijuana dispensaries and cultivations<\/a>, and experts say it\u2019s because they are forced to deal in cash. Modern banking also helps prevent money laundering and other financial crimes, said Sundie Seefried, CEO of Partner Colorado Credit Union, which manages more than $200 million in cannabis-related funds monthly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the cannabis industry continues to grow rapidly and cannabis businesses mature into a sophisticated industry, banking must keep up,\u201d Seefried said.<\/p>\n<p>Echoing Polis, Ron Kammerzell, interim executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said, \u201cThis is a public safety issue as much as it is a business issue. We applaud the governor\u2019s effort to seek some progress.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Because marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law, Colorado\u2019s dispensaries, cultivations and other businesses have been prohibited from obtaining conventional financial services, such as lines of credits or loans, and the ability to accept credit cards. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,52,7176,7075,8167,55,854,6813,77,5577,6814,9,7231,5019,7319,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[5063,2632,7179,7077,8168,2635,3427,6818,2655,5580,6819,7232,5022,7320],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}