Partner Colorado Credit Union has created a Credit Union Service Organization to serve other credit unions interested in serving the cannabis space, according to a Credit Union Times report. The program, called Safe Harbor Private Banking, is designed as a stand-alone company that seeks to “expand the (Partner Colorado) cannabis banking program nationally and help other financial institutions solve the issue of the unbanked cannabis industry,” said Sundie Seefried, Partner Colorado CEO.
Currently, the Safe Harbor program run by the credit union banks $80 million monthly from state-approved cannabis industry operators.
Seefried will continue to oversee Partner Colorado’s Safe Harbor program as well as the credit union. Matthew Cochran, a business and product development with more than 20 years of community bank and credit union experience, will serve as president of the Credit Union Service Organization. Seefried said appointing a president to run operations “will relieve the credit union staff from such a time sensitive and monumental task.”
“Building a team and launching Safe Harbor’s cannabis banking program nationally is an exciting opportunity,” Cochran said in the report. “I’ll be staffing the company over the next few months and launching a multi-state BETA test with banks and credit unions in September.”
The national launch of Safe Harbor Services is slated for the MJ Biz Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada from Nov. 14-17.