Guardian Banking Solutions

A paradigm shift is taking root in the cannabis industry. Thriving with many attractive opportunities, it is garnering much mainstream interest from professionals across the banking, finance, investing, and accounting worlds. With compliant and effective banking solutions, cannabis businesses can go beyond the regulatory barriers and stigma and operate with minimal risk.

Fueling this transformational journey in the high-risk cannabis industry is Guardian Banking Solutions (GBS), equipping businesses with robust banking solutions.

GBS is on a mission to find and curate top business solution partners for cannabis sector merchants and combine those solutions with its deep monitoring and risk mitigation expertise. Beginning its journey as a banking solutions provider for cannabis merchants, the company has evolved over the years to add a slew of solutions, including payment processing, cannabis insurance, bank direct payments, cannabis lending, outdoor advertising, and Employee Retention Credit (ERC) services.

“We started out with banking as the cornerstone, finding bank accounts for merchants through safe and compliant practices. Our goal is to connect cannabis operators with banks and be a single place with a full understanding of an operator’s needs and provide the best of the best solutions for those needs,” says Gary Viramontes, CEO of GBS.

Since no legislation guarantees the safety of cannabis banking, many financial institutions refrain from participating, leading to a lack of access to compliant banking solutions for businesses. As a result, merchants either open a management account or one that is not recognized as a cannabis bank account. GBS solves this problem by enabling its clients to work directly with a GBS partner bank that has a cannabis program and can set up a fully functional, low-cost, and compliant business checking account for them.
GBS offers a range of flexible payment processing options for all kinds of cannabis businesses and retailers to eliminate the necessity for cash transactions. It connects manufacturers and distributors with tools that facilitate non-cash payments, such as ACH or bank direct payments. GBS also offers clients reliableprotection through an exhaustive range of insurance coverage options.

With GBS’s flexible lending options, clients have the opportunity to grow their businesses and maximize revenue. It offers financing solutions to help clients expand to new locations, add new services, and buy equipment. By specializing in the ad channel with the highest return on ad spend in the industry, GBS offers compliant outdoor advertising services and launches profitable campaigns for its clients to help them cast a wider net and reach a larger audience.

Although cannabis businesses have been disqualified from participating in most pandemic economic recovery packages, GBS partnered with two large national firms, experts in COVID-19 Employment Retention Credit (ERC) and well-versed in the cannabis industry, to assist qualifying businesses. GBS’ tax professionals can help clients determine their eligibility for the ERC and calculate tax credits.

GBS also matches clients with suitable banks that will support their business. “Many clients we onboard are alarmed upon hearing that their account with their previous bank would be closed and that they have limited days or weeks to get a new account. We are able to match them with our partner banks and meet their requirements,” says Viramontes.

GBS provides the fortified oversight and security that businesses need to operate with minimal risk in the high-risk cannabis industry. It is constantly evolving and helping the industry soar to new heights.