SANTA ROSA, Calif.–North Bay Credit Union said it will introduce a platform aimed at helping other financial institutions offer services to the cannabis industry.
The $98-million North Bay, which as CUToday.info reported here had to pause its own offerings to cannabis-related businesses due to overwhelming response, said the objective is to help other FIs deal with the complex compliance rules, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
The new service, to be called HigherGrowth and to debut later in October, will be available for a fee to other financial institutions — including those across state lines, with fees ranging from $500 to $1,500 a month, depending on the account, the Business Journal said.
“There is more cannabis business than we can accommodate, plus our credit union can only serve California customers. This new entity can serve the banking of cannabis nationwide,” the credit union’s CEO, Chris Call, told the Business Journal.
Currently, 18 North Bay employees manage more than 300 accounts.
Ready to ‘Embrace’
“We expect more financial institutions will embrace this industry as cannabis acceptance grows,” Carole McCormick, president of HigherGrowth and the credit union’s compliance chief, told the Business Journal.
McCormick said plans call for providing more demonstrations and conferences to illustrate the benefits of the service.