CannaInsider interviewed Sundie Seefried, the CEO of Safe Harbor Private Banking, a division of Partner Colorado Credit Union that was launched in early 2015 and now serves about 110 clients and processes almost $70mm of cannabis transactions per month. As a credit union, she feels her organization has an obligation to serve the underserved and unbanked, though she acknowledges that her company is risking substantial fines due to federal illegality.
Safe Harbor employs 10 full-time bank secrecy officers to mitigate this risk, an investment that forces the organization to charge higher fees to their customers, though their prices haven’t changed since they launched, about 0.30-.45% of deposits. The company has essentially maxed out in Colorado, as it imposes a 10% asset limit. Given that her company has no additional capacity, Seefried is sharing Safe Harbor’s story with other credit unions so that the industry can have better banking. She recently shared information about Safe Harbor at a credit union conference in Washington, D.C., and she briefed Congressional staffers. Seefried expects to see a few credit unions and even banks begin serving the cannabis industry in 2017.
Key Takeaways
[0:51] – Sundie’s background in banking
[2:31] – What Partner Colorado Credit Union does
[5:51] – The current landscape of cannabis banking
[8:18] – Understanding The Cole Memo
[10:51] – Why Sundie is successful in cannabis banking
[13:38] – How Partner Colorado Credit Union makes money
[16:48] – Sundie talks about day-to-day banking challenges
[20:19] – Sundie talks about how they deal with all the cash
[22:12] – Common regulator concerns
[25:14] – Does banking work for companies that are licensed in multiple states?
[29:02] – How do debit and credit cards work for cannabis businesses
[31:57] – Sundie gives advice on banking in the cannabis industry
[33:44] – Sundie talks about her trip to D.C. to meet politicians
[35:37] – Cannabis banking three to five years in the future
[40:39] – Sundie answers some personal development questions
[43:38] – Contact details for Partner Colorado Credit Union
Read the transcript or listen to “Helping Cannabis Businesses Get & Keep a Bank Account”: http://www.cannainsider.com/helping-cannabis-businesses-get-keep-bank-account/
