British Columbia’s Community Savings credit union rolls out pre-approved credit cards for cannabis business
February 27, 2024 By Haley Nagasaki
As the five major banking institutions in Canada have largely denied cannabis businesses, industry has maintained constant difficulty in securing capital since legalization. Now, in a groundbreaking move, B.C. credit union Community Savings has unveiled pre-approved business credit cards tailored for its cannabis membership, marking a significant stride in reshaping financial accessibility for the industry.
In a recent press release, the stated offerings by Community Savings includes three business credit cards: The No Fee Cash Back Visa, the Visa Low-Rate Business Card, and the Visa Infinite Business Card – each with a variety of different benefits and protections.
The launch of pre-approved business cards may signal the beginning of the end of exclusionary practices and discrimination solely based on a company’s perceived legal standing.
The president and CEO of Community Savings, Mike Schilling, commented on the launch by emphasizing the importance of providing cannabis businesses with access to fundamental financial products. He underscored the credit union’s commitment to the support and growth of Canada’s cannabis industry, as a “pro-cannabis business financial institution,” by facilitating access to essential financial services.
“The fantastic team at Community Savings has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the B.C. cannabis industry,” says Joshua Reynolds, partnership director at We Can Capital Inc. “The announcement of pre-approved business credit cards for cannabis businesses is another significant step forward for our sector.”
Together with We Can Capital, this month the credit union also launched an “industry-first innovative invoice factoring program” designed for B.C. LPs to access affordable capital for their business needs, initiating a spark that may motivate other provinces to follow suit.
“We are proud of our close relationship with Community Savings; initiatives like the affordable invoice factoring program further demonstrate our mutual commitment to empowering B.C. cannabis entrepreneurs,” says Reynolds. “Together, we are reshaping financial accessibility for the industry, which we genuinely believe will help drive its continued growth.”
Despite harsh taxation and regulatory challenges, still the industry has proven resilient with stats of “about 10 per cent year-on-year [growth] since legalization,” while supporting employment of nearly 100,000 Canadians.