What’s in store for cannabis banking in 2026?

Juree Burgett, who traveled from Kansas, smells various varieties of cannabis at a dispensary in Kansas City, Missouri — a state where recreational pot use is now legal – Copyright AFP LOIC VENANCE

In the U.S., the cannabis business continues to grow. This is supported by a complex business network. What are the key themes shaping cannabis banking in 2026?

According to Kevin Hart, Founder and CEO, Mike Kennedy, co-founder and CSO, and Stacy Litke, VP of Banking Programs, from the firm Green Check, this is set to include legislation, AI, growth and more, as they explain to Digital Journal. 

Legislation & Regulatory Landscape

According to Hart, legislation leads and markets interpret: “The recent federal legislative actions and the market interpretation of what it truly will mean within the next year, if the dates stick, hasn’t made the picture any clearer for cannabis and hemp as a whole. I suspect this might move some states faster; others will just dig in harder.  The industry should work together to establish one set of regulations overall and then deal with the specialities of the product sets. No one should expect clarity when the cannabis and industry wants to keep bringing their variability and individuality. The past approaches have proven not to work and the sooner that folks realize change has to be brought to Washington, not expect it to come out of Washington, the sooner a true national framework can be established.”

Litke also comments on legislative changes, focusing on legal definitions of things like cannabis and hemp: “While it would make sense to review cannabis policy at a federal level, with both the hemp redefinition and rescheduling on the table, that’s not likely to happen. What’s likely is that the line between cannabis and hemp is moved up, and everything below the line falls to the state legal programs for regulation. I’m not sure the current administration has the time or inclination to overhaul federal policy on cannabis, especially since many in the administration still hold the “war on drugs” mindset, as evidenced by recent actions against Venezuela.”

She also expects more states to push on with cannabis related banking regulations in 2026: “I anticipate more states adopt cannabis banking legislation in 2026, Virginia being the first.  Virginia expanded their program in 2021 and it has been vetoed by the outgoing governor since then. The new governor, who will be sworn in in January, has committed to moving the program forward.  I also think Wisconsin will move forward with a medical program in 2026.  I’m also going out on a limb and thinking that Texas, Tennessee and Georgia might expand their programs in order to comply with the new hemp definition and support the many businesses in those markets who have taken the path of intoxicating hemp.”

Contingency Planning & Business Strategy

For firms in the cannabis space, Litkethinks preparation for legal changes is essential: “The majority of CRBs don’t need to adapt in the face of stalled legislation; they’ve been working with it since the beginning. They need to focus on the needs of their market, the health of their business, and the compliance of their products, just like they have been. If the rules change around cannabis at the federal level there will be a period of time before they take effect. They’ll have time then to adjust – once they know what they’re adjusting to.  With that said, the hemp businesses are struggling with this at the moment.  They know change is coming and have a rough idea what that is and how much time they have.  They’re starting the work now, but some of the changes are not finalized so they may need to evolve their plans, which may involve changing their products, or folding in under state legal programs.”

Hart also comments: “The biggest challenge for CRBs in 2026 will be the price compression of products. Macro issues certainly have an impact, but they take time to evolve while the daily, almost transactional knee-jerking of price matching is immediate and non-recoverable.”

Financial Challenges & Solutions

In terms of finances and the challenges ahead, Kennedy is of the view: “The next wave of innovation in compliance and financial access will be defined by intelligent automation and interoperability. For years, compliance technology has been reactive and mostly focused on checking boxes and catching exceptions after the fact. What we’re seeing now is a shift toward proactive, continuous compliance, powered by AI and better data infrastructure. We’re already seeing models that can summarize risk narratives, extract insights from adverse media, and assist in conducting ongoing monitoring reviews with high accuracy. The real breakthrough will be when AI acts as a co-pilot helping compliance officers focus on judgment and oversight rather than repetitive review tasks.”

Litke thinks that new approaches will be needed to support this: “Financial innovation has to happen around lending in the cannabis industry in order to make it less risk adverse to financial institutions.  We’re seeing cannabis specific credit reporting and a move towards a secondary market for commercial loans in this space.  Our Lending Alliance is working closely with two of these innovators, Coda Capital Advisors and CTrust to mitigate the risk to FIs, and make capital more available and affordable to the industry with full availability of this model going into 2026.”

Continued Growth?

As for future growth prospects for the sector, Litke is optimistic: “Lending is the key to unlocking growth in the industry in 2026.  Many operators have high priced debt coming due and the ability to refinance that debt at lower rates will be available to those who are in a good financial position.  New entrants to the lending space, and lower overall rates have driven down the cost of credit while at the same time making it more available.  This will be great for the industry as it lowers its cost of debt, and an opportunity for financial institutions who are interested in increasing the profitability of their programs.”