What Cannabis Growers Should Do To Deal with Banking Problems
April 9, 2021 The cannabis industry has been growing the past few years, but one of the hurdles of growth has been banking laws.
We asked Tom Gavin, CEO of CannaTrac, the creators of the cashless CannaCard, for cannabis operations about some of the top banking issues cannabis growers face. Here is what he had to say.
Denials are Commonplace
Gavin explained that CannaTrac took many denials before finally being accepted by a bank.
“We faced a lot of denials early on because there was fear and confusion around how CannaTrac worked and how it interacted within the industry,” Gavin says. “As time went on, we began to better explain what we do and found out right away what the banks were looking for. We won’t fit every mold right now, but we are confident that eventually, this will not even be a concern.”
The Answer to Banking Issues Is at the Federal Level
According to Gavin, the best way to improve banking in the cannabis industry is for the federal government to either pass the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act or reschedule cannabis.
“Regardless of laws relaxing state-by-state or even an implementation of a version of the SAFE Banking Act, there will still be issues,” Gavin says. “In order for the banking issues to truly disappear, we need the passage of the MORE Act, or a bill like it, or complete rescheduling of cannabis. Anything short of that will leave it up for interpretation and continue to be a problem as big banks are always more conservative with our industry.”
Advice for Current Cannabis Growers Dealing with Banking Problems
When it comes down to banking in the current times, Gavin had one line of advice to give to anyone looking for help.
“Don’t waste [your] time with a bank that seems unwilling to work with you,” Gavin says. “Be transparent and document everything.”
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