ASTORIA, Ore.–Wauna Credit Union announced it will begin offering banking services to the marijuana industry through a partnership with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Hypur.
The credit union said Hypur will provide it with compliance and payments software. Wauna Credit Union serves members in Oregon and Washington, both of which have legalized the cannabis industry.
“As a new industry that poses unique banking challenges, Wauna CU has taken careful steps in ensuring their full compliance with state and federal law and policy,” Wauna Credit Union said in a statement. “After meeting with the Hypur team and seeing their compliance and payment capabilities, Wauna CU determined that partnering with Hypur was the key to responsibly servicing Oregon (cannabis-related businesses).”
The credit union said it will use Hypur’s technology to supplement its current anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act processes with real-time red flag alerts, automated onboarding and document management, electronic business-to-business and consumer-to-business payments, and Level 3 data for complete transaction transparency.
In the same statement, WCU President and CEO Robert Blumberg noted cannabis-related businesses have difficulty forming baking relationships due to a limited number of credit unions and banks that serve the industry because marijuana still remains illegal under federal law.
“Providing banking services to this industry legitimizes these businesses,” Blumberg said. “Our partner, Hypur, with their state of the art compliance program, provides transparency to these operations. It also adds an element of safety and security to all of us that live and/or work in the community, which is in all of our best interests.”