By W.B. King
The fifth annual PBC Conference, which brings together cannabis industry decision-makers in payments, banking, and compliance, will meet Sept. 4-5, 2024, in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton.
According to the American Bankers Association, 37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have legalized the use of cannabis to some degree. Under federal law, however, the possession, distribution or sale remains illegal. This presents issues for marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) that seek to use a bank or credit union as the question of money laundering comes into play.
While there are financial institutions, such as First Citizens Bank and Hudson Valley Credit Union, that offer services to MRBs, there remains a gray area, which is why the PBC Conference was founded in 2018.
“There’s no other conference that I go to that really brings in bankers; it brings in regulators, it brings in this in compliance really on the professional side to kind of work together and have thought sharing articles and conversation about how we can really help professionalize this industry,” noted Mitzi Keaing, partner at the White Plains, N.Y.-based Citrin Cooperman professional services firm.
“And as we start to see the industry really take hold across the country, this conference just gets bigger and better every single year,” added Keaing who attended the last three conferences.
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At this year’s event, the NCUA, the IRS and state regulators from Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, California, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Connecticut will be in attendance, among others. Also, federal legislators from the U.S. House of Representatives and United States Senate will be onsite.
Last year, the event drew more than 500 attendees, 22% from credit unions and banks. The conference will feature sessions, seminars, and an exhibition hall. Speakers and panelists include Wright-Patt Credit Union’s Megan Bennett, who serves as the assistant manager of MRB compliance, as well as Pasadena Service Federal Credit Union’s Director of Compliance Jamaal Byers.
Additional offerings include the PBC certificate program, “a standardized baseline of knowledge for entry-level bankers.” Topics covered include cannabis legislation history, cannabis industry terminology, foundational guidance documents for cannabis banking, taxes, PBC cannabis banking ecosystem, and Key Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations that are applicable to cannabis banking.
Among sessions offered will be “Banks vs. Banking Services Companies,” “Cannabis Compliance and Its impact on Banking Partners,” “Why are cannabis payments still so difficult?” “Beyond Cash Logistics,” and “Mining for Data to Get Digital Gold,” among others.
Registration for the PBC Conference remains open.
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