NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger recently expressed the organization’s support for lawmakers passing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act via a CUInsight editorial.
The legislation would provide greater federal-level clarity and legal certainty for credit unions choosing to provide financial services to state-authorized marijuana-related businesses (MRBs), as well as ancillary businesses providing such services in states that have legalized marijuana.
“A core concern of marijuana businesses in these legalized states is how they are going to safely and securely access financial services,” Berger wrote. “Many of these businesses operate as cash-only, having no option to deposit money or process transactions as financial institutions are prohibited at the federal level from serving them. This can lead to increased crime and limited growth opportunities for these businesses.”
The issue is not a debate on the merits of legalizing marijuana at the federal level, maintaining lawmakers must put unrelated arguments aside and focus on what the bill does.
“This is a clear way to make our financial system and the businesses and communities it serves safer and more secure,” he concluded. “Congress has the opportunity to pass the SAFE Banking Act yet this year, potentially as part of the omnibus funding package. I call on our leaders to do what is right and end the year with a major win for credit unions and our nation as a whole: Pass the SAFE Banking Act.”