DENVER—The family behind The Fourth Corner Credit Union, which has been granted a charter to serve the marijuana industry, is profiled in this month’s Rolling Stone.
The first credit union chartered to serve the marijuana industry, expected to open its doors mid-January, was the work of the Mason family—25-year-old Alex and his attorney father Mark. Alex’s mother, Rhoda, and his sister, Delaney, also played integral roles in getting the CU chartered, Rolling Stone reported.
According to the report, Alex had the idea for the credit union, and spent countless hours working to get it off the ground.
"I didn't think it was fair that my friends in Colorado's legal cannabis industry were deprived of the one tool they really needed to succeed – access to banking," Alex Mason told Rolling Stone. "They are legal. They pay taxes. They provide good jobs. They used the system to change the law, but now the law was punishing them for no reason.”
On Nov. 19, the Colorado Division of Financial Services issued The Fourth Corner Credit Union an unconditional charter to operate (http://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/CU-Chartered-To-Serve-Marijuana-Industry). The CU still is attempting to obtain insurance from NCUA.
A Colorado law of 1981 allows a credit union to open its doors while an application for share-deposit insurance is pending. NCUA’s review could take up to two years.
The CU will be based in Denver and begin with one branch. Shared branching and e-services may be used to extend its reach. The Fourth Corner will offer basic deposit and payment services. The credit union will not loan CU funds prior to obtaining insurance coverage on its deposits, Mark Mason explained in a previous report.
The Fourth Corner will be open to any legal marijuana enterprise in Colorado, as well as anyone who is a member of a nonprofit that supports legalized cannabis.
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