Yesterday Berner got on Instagram to call out Wells Fargo for denying business with him. He said after 19 years of banking with Wells Fargo for none of his cannabis endeavors he’s had it with their discrimination towards him. The bank denied him for the third time on opening an account for his clothing business on Melrose. After they continue to give him no reason for their refusal to open the account it leads you to believe that their reasoning is his ties to Mary Jane.
Berner cites that he’s been using Wells Fargo for years to cash his regular working checks as a kid, leading up to money he’s made off his music and merchandise. These are legitimate million dollar businesses he’s running here, and he’s still getting turned away. In the post he goes on to say that he deliberately does all his cannabis banking with weird credit unions. The only reasonable conclusion to draw here is that Berner is facing discrimination purely because of his association with cannabis.
His response to being told no for the third time is his complete resignation from any of their banking services. California continues to subject cannabis brands to go to extreme lengths and taxation just to keep legitimacy. Then in the same breath won’t provide these brands bringing in millions of dollars with real banking options. Even if you’re running a clothing brand with ties to weed! Something needs to change.
