Banking Cannabis

The growth of the cannabis industry has been well documented over the past several years, as a growing number of states continue their movements to adopt the legalized sale and usage of one of the most popular medicinal and recreational drugs in the United States. However, while many believed that the cannabis industry had the potential to be rather successful, few could have envisioned the boom that has been seen within this market over the past several years, as legal cannabis sales are set to top the $5 billion mark for the third straight year in 2017. Yet analysts believe that these margins will only continue to increase in the years to come, conceivably by as much as a whopping 30% annually. While every successful industry must deal with distinctive pitfalls, those surrounding the marijuana industry are far more complex than others. As matters currently stand, marijuana businesses have a hard time to obtain banking services due to federal laws restricting banks and credit unions from taking marijuana funds. These limitations leave organizations within this industry - some bringing in upwards of several million dollars a year - to function on a "cash-only" basis, leaving them susceptible to frequent crime. While some local financial institutions have begun to serve operators within this industry following the recent guidance provided by the U.S. Justice Department, the risk remains high for dealing with companies operating in a drug-centered business, specifically due to its close ties to the illegal drug trade and gang-related activity. With the regulatory climate governing U.S. financial institutions continues to advance, the scope of responsibilities that have fallen upon compliance departments are now greater than ever before. Compliance-related tasks with a direct correlation to the cannabis industry would include vigilant client and transaction monitoring, as well as strict suspicious activity reporting requirements, each of which would demand a significant amount of time, money, and other resources to be performed adequately. While the benefits could be twofold for financial institutions and cannabis companies alike should there be cooperation between the two, the unknown factors surrounding such a partnership are too perilous to be ignored. This handbook, the latest in a series of comprehensive works written by author and CEO of Global RADAR, Dominic Suszek, is the premier source for information regarding the marijuana industry and all that it entails from the standpoint of those operating in the financial services sector. Banking Marijuana is the first text of its kind to tackle a subject matter of this nature, and should be utilized as a potent tool by financial service providers to grow accustomed to an industry with the power to change banking procedures across the globe.