About 1,000 banks and credit unions filed suspicious activity reports involving cannabis-related businesses in 2024, according to a Government Accountability Office report publicly released Sept. 8.
The GAO report, based on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s analysis of filings from fiscal years 2015 through 2024, found that the number of financial institutions reporting that they provided services to cannabis-related businesses increased from 2015 to 2019 and then remained relatively steady through 2024.
Cannabis-related businesses, as the report defines them, include state-licensed firms that grow, manufacture or sell cannabis products — described as plant-touching businesses — as well as ancillary businesses that support those operations, such as suppliers of growing equipment or providers of legal services.
What the filing data does and does not show
FinCEN requires institutions to include specific terms when filing suspicious activity reports on transactions involving cannabis-related businesses, which is how the agency identifies the filings.
The GAO cautioned that the count of filers is not a count of banking relationships. The data do not identify how many institutions accept cannabis-related businesses as ongoing customers, the report said, because institutions may not report or may not know they are providing services to such a business, or they may report an occasional transaction without accepting the business as an ongoing customer.
In addition, the report said, some institutions filing these reports may serve only ancillary businesses rather than plant-touching ones.
The federal framework
In 2014, FinCEN — which the report describes as a federal agency that helps combat financial crimes — issued guidance on how financial institutions can serve cannabis-related businesses while complying with Bank Secrecy Act requirements. The guidance instructs institutions to gather thorough information on such customers and to file suspicious activity reports for certain transactions involving them.
Federal banking regulators help oversee institutions’ compliance with those requirements through Bank Secrecy Act examinations, according to the report.
With certain exceptions, cannabis is a controlled substance under federal law. As a result, the GAO said, serving these businesses poses legal risks for financial institutions and triggers ongoing Bank Secrecy Act compliance obligations.
Why institutions decide as they do
Based on its focus groups and interviews, the GAO reported that factors dissuading institutions from serving cannabis-related businesses include potential legal and regulatory sanctions and the costs of complying with Bank Secrecy Act requirements.
Conversely, the report said, some institutions decide to serve these businesses to meet community needs or as a business opportunity.
What businesses reported
Obtaining and maintaining financial services remains difficult, according to cannabis business owners and managers who participated in the GAO’s focus groups. The report cited bank account closures, high fees for bank accounts and high interest rates for business loans.
Accepting customer payments is difficult largely because two major credit card companies prohibit cannabis purchases, the report said. It did not name the companies.
Owners and managers also reported that they and their employees face challenges accessing personal financial services because of their work in the cannabis industry, according to the GAO.
How the review was conducted
The GAO said it was asked to review issues related to financial institutions serving cannabis-related businesses. The report examines federal guidance and oversight, factors affecting institutions’ decisions, and challenges the businesses and their employees face in accessing financial services.
The agency reviewed guidance and agency documents, obtained FinCEN’s analysis of suspicious activity report data for 2015 through 2024, and reviewed literature on the businesses’ access to banking. It conducted nine focus groups and 11 interviews involving a total of 74 financial institutions, selected to represent different asset sizes, institution types and policies on serving cannabis businesses; participants were the Bank Secrecy Act officer or cannabis banking program manager at each institution.
The GAO also held eight focus groups with owners and managers from 51 cannabis-related businesses, selected to represent different business sizes and types, and interviewed agency officials, financial and cannabis industry associations, and other interest groups.
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Banking Services: Cannabis Businesses Face Access Challenges” (GAO-26-107498), published Aug. 7, 2026; publicly released Sept. 8, 2026. GAO states that suspicious activity report data do not identify how many institutions accept cannabis-related businesses as ongoing customers, and that focus group and interview participants were selected to represent a range of institution and business characteristics rather than to be statistically representative.