wbjournal.com | August 16, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 11
M E M B E R F D I C | M E M B E R D I F
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W
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TO HELP YOURS THRIVE.
our business
2 7 8 P A R K A V E , 3 1 5 M A I N S T R E E T ,
W O R C E S T E R P U B L I C M A R K E T I N T E R A C T I V E A T M
F L AS H P O L L
Cannabis firms should be allowed to bank
As cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, businesses in the industry have long
struggled with finding financial institutions willing to take them on as customers,
as banks risk their standing with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Among the
outliers in that realm is Lighthouse Biz Solutions, LLC, a cannabis financial services
subsidiary of GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner. Still, finding banks willing to do
business with them remains an ongoing challenge for cannabis business owners,
although there are efforts underway to relieve this problem at the federal level,
including Congress considering the SAFE Banking Act of 2021, which prohibits
regulators from penalizing financial institutions servicing legal cannabis companies.
When polled online, the overwhelming majority of WBJ readers said marijuana firms
should be given full access to bank services.
Should banks be allowed to
have formal relationships
with cannabis businesses
like they would with
any other industry?
Yes.
86%
No.
14%
