DENVER – Colorado's marijuana businesses have a cash flow problem: Too much cash is flowing in and they've nowhere to put it.
Most banks refuse to work with marijuana businesses, which are legal in Colorado but remain illegal at the federal level. Now, a new credit union aimed specifically toward the cannabis industry hopes to offer a solution.
The Fourth Corner Credit Union hopes to open its doors within weeks in Denver, offering to accept cash deposits and to permit members to make electronic transfers for payroll and rent, and to buy supplies.
"We are on the one-yard line," said Mark Mason, an attorney advising the credit union's nine founders.
Colorado's banking regulators granted Fourth Corner a charter on Nov. 19, and now the union is waiting for the Federal Reserve to issue it a master account number, which would give it access to the country's electronic banking system.
