Elliott Tapelt estimates the conversation lasted all of three seconds. He asked an assistant manager at his credit union what services would be available to help run a marijuana microbusiness he wants to open by October.
"They were like, 'We don't do that kind of stuff,'" said Tapelt, 39, of Minneapolis, who is vying to break into Minnesota's budding adult-use marijuana market after receiving preliminary license approval from the state this year.
After a two-year phase-in of its adult-use marijuana program, the state now has five fully licensed marijuana business owners outside of tribal dispensaries, including one working toward retail sales. As entrepreneurs like Tapelt work to stand up their operations — forming business plans, courting investors, hunting real estate, seeking local approvals — finding financial backing and reliable banking services can be difficult.
Getting a bank for a marijuana business is easier today than it was when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize adult-use. Deposit solutions have emerged to manage problems like being too cash heavy. Visa and Mastercard still prohibit consumers from putting weed on credit, but dispensaries in some states have workarounds allowing debit transactions at the counter.
Read more at The Minnesota Star Tribune
