The Office of Governor Jared Polis and DORA are committed to creating a regulatory landscape that fosters access to the full scope of banking and financial services for state-regulated cannabis-related businesses.
The first “Roadmap to Cannabis Banking & Financial Services” (2020) was primarily aimed at increasing the number of financial institutions in Colorado serving the cannabis industry, as well as working to identify barriers related to banking the cannabis industry and strategies to overcome them.
A newly released and updated "Roadmap 2.0 - Cannabis Banking, Financial Services & Insurance" (2023) looks at the progress made over those three years, stakeholder feedback, data from questionnaires, and provides an updated plan for going forward.
The intent -- as well as many of the challenges -- remains unchanged in Roadmap 2.0. The updated roadmap strives to continue to:
- Create a regulatory landscape where banking and financial service opportunities can be cultivated and as accessible as those afforded to other industries.
- Explore emerging technologies and alternative financing opportunities.
- Identify opportunities for legislative and regulatory clarity for state-chartered financial institutions, state-licensed money transmitters and state-regulated insurance companies that seek to serve cannabis-related businesses.