Berlin, 2021-05-10: The German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) has launched a national survey focusing on access to financial services for legal hemp and cannabis businesses. The survey is aimed at licensed companies and entrepreneurs across all sectors of the legal cannabis industry, including CBD, hemp food, and industrial hemp.

The initiative was sparked by numerous reports of discriminatory practices by financial institutions and payment service providers, including refusals to provide service or imposition of burdensome conditions – even when the businesses are fully compliant with German and EU laws.

“There are far too many indications that legal cannabis businesses in Germany are being unnecessarily hindered in their day-to-day operations,” said Jürgen Neumeyer, Managing Director of the BvCW. “We need to get to the bottom of these reports and ensure that these barriers become a thing of the past. Compared internationally, this could be putting Germany at a competitive disadvantage for no good reason.”

The survey is part of a broader campaign to improve market access and transparency for the cannabis industry. The BvCW aims to gather reliable data on the scope and impact of financial discrimination to strengthen its policy advocacy efforts.

“Our objective is to provide political and economic decision-makers with solid facts,” added Benjamin Patock, BvCW board member and head of the working group on Technology, Trade & Services. “Financial institutions that are repeatedly mentioned in a negative light will be directly approached by us. At the same time, we will also publish recommendations for service providers who treat legal cannabis businesses fairly.”

The results of the survey will be used to document the scale of the problem, engage with stakeholders, and push for an end to unjustified market discrimination. This initiative builds on previous interviews and consultations conducted by the BvCW with industry experts and company representatives.

The survey is open until May 31, 2021, and can be accessed at: www.cannabiswirtschaft.de/umfrage

The BvCW position paper on financial services and cannabis business is available here.