Confessions of a Cannabis Banker

3y
6m read
Summary

Although FinCEN provides a clear path to compliantly bank cannabis, complexities make sustainable cannabis banking challenging to deliver. This does not equate to 500 financial institutions banking cannabis, but only those that reported cannabis-related activity at their institution. I am here to remove the veil and myths surrounding banking cannabis to promote systemic change to address this industry’s inequalities. Banking cannabis was important to me because I believe that society benefits from open and transparent banking. By October 2020, I had built and oversaw a cannabis banking program that serviced over 200 of the largest cannabis companies and processed over $3 billion in annual transactions.

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Introducing myself as a commercial banker never carried the “wow” factor of other professions. When I add that I am a cannabis banker, everyone wants to learn more, and there is a lot to tell. 

While I am an anti-money laundering expert, some might say that under the strictest definitions, I laundered more money than you could imagine.  How much? Billions. How did I do this?  I followed the United States Department of Treasury’s published guidance, and without objection from multiple Federal banking regulators.

I am no different than any other banker, providing the same services to the cannabis...

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