A bipartisan coalition of eight U.S. House members reintroduced cannabis banking legislation on June 25 that would help ensure state-licensed businesses have access to federally regulated banking and financial services.
Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, filed the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2026, one day after four bipartisan U.S. Senators introduced similar legislation in the upper chamber, coordinating a bicameral approach to bring the much-needed reform to the industry.
Joyce was joined by Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., Brian Mast, R-Fla., Lou Correa, D-Calif., Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., and Dina Titus, D-Nev., in introducing the bill in the lower chamber.
“State-licensed cannabis businesses employ thousands of Americans and generate significant tax revenue, yet many remain effectively shut out of the traditional banking system,” said Joyce, who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus alongside Mast, Titus and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who wasn’t named as a co-sponsor.
“Forcing businesses to operate in cash not only hinders economic growth, but it also opens the doors for illegal activity like money laundering and organized crime,” Joyce said. “This legislation would provide access to capital and the necessary financial services to operate a successful business and keep communities safe. By introducing the SAFE Banking Act, Congress is showing its commitment to supporting small businesses and implementing commonsense cannabis policies that respect states’ rights to regulate the industry.”
Because cannabis remains prohibited under federal law, federally regulated banks and credit unions steer clear of servicing licensed cannabis businesses in the current environment of state-by-state legalization. Instead, state-sanctioned cannabis businesses are severely limited in their access to traditional financial and depository services, with only a small percentage of regional and local institutions willing to take on the risks.
“For too long, legal cannabis businesses have been shut out of the traditional banking system, forced into risky alternatives and made targets for crime,” Velázquez said. “These small businesses are creating jobs and stimulating local economies. They deserve the same access to banking that every other lawful business already enjoys.”
The SAFE Banking Act would address the risks and regulatory concerns associated with providing financial and depository services to state-legal cannabis companies that partake in a federally illegal activity – the trafficking of a Schedule I controlled substance.
According to Joyce’s office, the 2026 rendition of the bill would prevent federal banking regulators from:
- Prohibiting or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a state-legal cannabis business.
- Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance primarily because the bank is providing services to a state-legal cannabis business.
- Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses.
- Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a state-legal cannabis business.
After the House passed the SAFE Banking Act seven times between 2019 and 2022 – all thwarted in the Senate – Himes said it’s “long overdue” for the federal government to end its “unfair prohibition” that’s prevented cannabis businesses from fully accessing basic banking services.
“Forcing legal businesses and their customers to operate exclusively in cash is nonsensical and dangerous, exposing both to unnecessary danger and hindering commerce in a growing industry,” he said. “This bill would provide certainty for the legal cannabis industry and allow it to serve its customers without fear of federal punishment for conducting legitimate business.”
The legislation would also require banks to comply with guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), and its protections would extend to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDI) to ensure they, too, can work with cannabis businesses.
Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, urged Congress to pass the legislation, not only so banks can serve the cannabis industry, but also so they can serve the accountants, skilled trades, landlords, law firms and other service providers that cannabis companies rely on to do business.
“For years, the conflict between state and federal cannabis laws has left many cannabis businesses operating in cash, creating significant public safety risks in states where it’s been legalized,” Nichols said. “The SAFE Banking Act would provide banks with a clear federal safe harbor, allowing them to serve state-legal businesses while increasing transparency for law enforcement and reducing risks to the public.”
