The Canadian Cannabis Retailers Association (ACCRES) reports that 50 out of its 52 members in British Columbia have been denied access to traditional banking services. This means that cannabis retailers have had to turn to local credit unions for their banking needs. While it is possible to deposit money in the bank, the fees associated with this are often much higher than those for other types of businesses. The main issue is that no major bank or credit union in Canada provides services to the cannabis industry.
Smaller community banks and credit unions have stepped up to fill this gap, but even then, dispensaries often pay significant fees that don't apply to other types of businesses. Banks claim that these fees are necessary to offset the risk and extra work associated with working with marijuana companies, such as filling out suspicious activity reports. At the federal level, marijuana is still illegal and many banks are incredibly cautious about violating federal anti-money laundering laws when dealing with the profits of illegal marijuana companies. As a result, none of the major banks in the United States are accepting cannabis dispensaries or marijuana-related businesses as customers.
