Hemp Business

We understand the inherent challenges of establishing a banking relationship in the hemp industry. With this in mind, we've built a knowledgeable team of product and industry experts to make the establishment of your relationship as simple and quick as possible.

• Hemp specialists that know your industry
• A powerful combination of lending and merchant services
• A large, national hemp-friendly bank that offers a full suite of banking products and services to meet your needs
• The support of an expansive branch network
• A bank with a robust digital platform that will be able to accommodate your company's growth
• A bank that possesses a knowledgeable team that knows your industry and can help protect your best interests

Per the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is "the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis."

Hemp has been around for centuries and was first introduced in America in the early 1600s as an industrial crop, where it was used for products such as paper and rope. By the early 20th century, the American hemp industry began to decline as manufacturers began to import synthetic fibers, which decreased the demand for high-quality domestic hemp.

In addition, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was enacted, which hindered domestic farmers by adding a $100 transfer tax on sales. During World War II, the federal government temporarily lifted the Marijuana Tax Act and launched a pro-hemp campaign to encourage American farmers to grow hemp, which was used to produce products like rope for the US Navy.

In 1970, the government passed the Controlled Substances Act, which regulated all cannabis, including hemp. With the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, states implemented laws to allow the US Department of Agriculture and universities to grow hemp for research or pilot programs. With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was removed from the Controlled Substances Act and farmers were legally able to grow hemp.

Hemp and marijuana both come from the same species, Cannabis sativa. Hemp, however, is defined as a Cannabis plant that contains 0.3% or less THC—whereas marijuana contains more. The federal government has legalized hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill. However, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.