A Denver-based credit union aiming to become the first of its kind — one created to serve the Colorado marijuana industry — has suffered a setback.

The Fourth Corner Credit Union’s application for a “master account” has been denied by the Federal Reserve Bank. Approval would have paved the way for a new era for the state’s cannabis industry, which has been forced to rely on cash because it is still illegal under federal law, a fact that has led almost all banks to refuse to open accounts.

The Fed’s branch in Kansas City, which has been reviewing the application since November, gave it a thumb’s down earlier this month, according to a New York Times story posted online Thursday night.

 

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