One of the hardest things for a legal marijuana business to do is open a bank account, because Federal law prohibits it. In Washington state, which will sell about $1B of marijuana this year, just a handful of small banks and credit unions offer banking to cannabis businesses.
Two entrepreneurs in Chicago with backgrounds in finance, insurance and risk management are hoping to change that. Noah Carey and Bill Erwin say the goal of their company, Shield Compliance is to offer banks and cannabis businesses fully automating banking regulatory compliance, transparent connections between all the businesses’ record-keeping systems and the reduction of the risk and worry that come from working in cannabis.
Those risks and worries are very real to entrepreneurs in the industry. Despite Donald Trump’s comments during the campaign that he is in favor of medical marijuana and states’ rights, recent statements by Attorney General Jeff Sessions show the justice department might crack down on legal businesses growing, processing and selling cannabis. >>>