Safe Harbor Financial, FundCanna team up to tackle cannabis banking headaches

Safe Harbor Financial (Nasdaq: SHFS) and FundCanna are joining forces to help cannabis businesses break through persistent banking and money barriers, the companies announced Thursday.

The new referral deal between Safe Harbor and fellow lender FundCanna creates a one-stop solution for marijuana operators who’ve been largely shut out of traditional banking services.

The setup: Safe Harbor will send clients to FundCanna when they need loans or equipment financing, while FundCanna will direct its borrowers to Safe Harbor’s banking services. All loan money will flow through Safe Harbor-managed accounts, keeping everything above board, according to the news release.

“This partnership delivers a practical, scalable solution that puts the financial needs of cannabis operators first,” said Terry Mendez, Safe Harbor’s new CEO, who’s trying to breathe new life into the company after a rough financial stretch.

Safe Harbor recently posted mixed results for 2024 – its lending business is booming – up 123% for the year – but the company still recorded a hefty $48.3 million loss. Still, Mendez, who took over earlier this year after Sundie Seefried’s retirement, has big plans to overhaul the company.

In March, he told shareholders he wants to transform Safe Harbor from just a cannabis banking operation into a comprehensive business services hub – including expanded lending, which the FundCanna deal supports.

FundCanna’s founder Adam Stettner says the partnership “brings together two trusted platforms dedicated to solving persistent financial barriers in cannabis.” His team has pumped $20 billion into various underserved businesses over two decades.

The collaboration comes as cannabis companies continue to struggle with cash constraints while traditional banks keep them at arm’s length due to federal prohibition. For Safe Harbor, which has already processed $25 billion in cannabis transactions since its 2015 founding, it says, the deal represents a key piece of Mendez’s vision to serve not just cannabis but eventually other “debanked” industries like crypto and gaming.