Green Check expands compliance platform beyond cannabis

Green Check has expanded its compliance platform beyond cannabis banking, extending it to a wider range of high-risk and specialty industries.

The platform now supports financial institutions serving money services businesses, fintechs, gaming, ATM operators, NGOs and charities, and other cash-intensive businesses. It can also be adapted for other specialist sectors with distinct compliance requirements.

Green Check built its business around cannabis banking, where banks and credit unions face close scrutiny over customer checks, transaction reviews and reporting. That experience has shaped its expansion into other segments where lenders and account providers often face similar demands.

"We built Green Check by starting with one of the most demanding verticals: cannabis," said Mike Kennedy, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Green Check.

"That experience gave us a strong foundation to expand into other high-risk industries, where many of the same challenges apply," Kennedy added.

Wider market

Financial institutions serving higher-risk business customers often need to do more than standard onboarding and anti-money laundering checks. They may also require enhanced due diligence, ongoing licence and credential reviews, additional account monitoring, and more detailed records for audits and examinations.

Green Check says its platform brings those tasks into a single system that also covers regulatory reporting, relationship management, and software integrations. The product is positioned as an add-on to an institution's existing anti-money laundering system rather than a replacement.

The expansion reflects demand from existing customers already using the platform for cannabis-related banking. Some of those institutions wanted to apply the same tools to other specialist business lines with similar compliance and operational pressures.

One such customer is First Fidelity Bank, which has worked with Green Check on cannabis banking and expects to use the platform more broadly across other higher-risk sectors.

"We've been long-time partners with Green Check on our cannabis banking program, and we've seen firsthand how much value and efficiency it brings to a complex, high-risk vertical," said Teri Wagner, EVP, Director of Treasury Services at First Fidelity Bank.

"We're excited to extend that same level of process and efficiency to the other high-risk industries we serve, and to grow alongside Green Check as it expands its impact across the specialty banking industry," Wagner added.

Compliance pressure

Banks entering specialist sectors can face operational strain when compliance work is handled through a mix of spreadsheets, separate monitoring tools, and manual reviews. Over time, that can increase the risk of errors, add to staff workloads, and make programmes harder to scale.

That has created an opening for compliance software providers focused on industries that traditional banking systems may not cover in depth. Green Check is targeting institutions that want to manage specialised customer groups without rebuilding their broader compliance infrastructure.

Recent guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has encouraged financial institutions to collaborate more closely on fraud intelligence, according to Green Check. That may help banks broaden their exposure to specialist industries while maintaining closer risk oversight.

Specialty banking has drawn attention as institutions look for new sources of deposits, lending activity, and fee income. It can also give businesses in underserved sectors access to financial services that have historically been difficult to secure through mainstream providers.

Green Check says it connects financial institutions with more than 18,000 specialty businesses across 38 states. The company was founded by executives with backgrounds in technology, banking, and regulation.

"Our clients spoke, and we listened," Kennedy said. "Many of the financial institutions we work with serve multiple high-risk industries, and now we can support them across the full spectrum of their specialty banking needs."