Because of those factors, the loan is more than just a personal loan plus marketing. Not one applicant has qualified yet due to credit issues, so one feature of the loan package allows entry-level borrowers to qualify for an unsecured $500 loan. Another option allows members to build savings as they improve their credit scores by repaying loans of up to $1,000.

Some readers mocked this loan program and those who would apply. One reader called it cheap publicity and added, “If someone needs a loan for a personal reason, I thought we would just make the loan and not publicize the purpose.”

This reader missed the point of why credit unions exist. If transgender individuals could obtain a personal loan from a bank, they would do so. I'm sure plenty of them have. But, as the article explained, many can't qualify due to credit issues that stem directly from their transgender identities.

The success of credit unions among mainstream borrowers has spoiled this community. Alternative financial providers like payday lenders thrive because the underbanked and unbanked aren't welcome in some credit union branches.

Risk-averse regulators are fueling the fire. Creative ways to serve the underserved, even when risk is covered, is practically forbidden.

Speaking of regulatory contraband and risk management, credit unions interested in serving the growing legal marijuana market should purchase Sundie Seefried's new book, Navigating Safe Harbor: Cannabis Banking in a Time of Uncertainty. Seefried is president/CEO of the $311 million Partner Colorado Credit Union, located near Denver.

Her book details how she established a division of the credit union, Safe Harbor Private Banking, to serve Colorado's thriving marijuana industry.

It's a guidebook on how to manage regulatory, reputational and safety risks associated with this market, and clarifies for regulators how to help bring stability to the rapidly growing industry.

Most are familiar with the conundrum faced by financial services providers in states where medicinal or recreational marijuana is legal. Federal laws make it so difficult for cannabis businesses to open checking or savings accounts in federally insured financial

institutions, most of them don't even want to try. That means state-legal marijuana businesses are unable to wire funds, access lines of credit or maintain payroll accounts, and must pay bills, employees, suppliers and taxes in cash.

That's not just risky for those in the industry; it's risky for everyone. Marijuana business owners frequently visit supermarkets, convenience stores and other money order providers with backpacks filled with $10,000 or more in cash. They wouldn't be the only ones harmed in an armed robbery. Everyone else in the store could be, too. This public safety issue was one of the reasons Partner Colorado's board approved the service.

Seefried's program isn't soft on serving the marijuana industry. She described the credit union's policies and procedures as draconian. Potential members are presumed to be laundering money and using the storefront for illegal purposes until they can prove otherwise. Every single transaction is scrutinized. Seefried said that heavy hand has turned away some, but that was the point.

“We wanted to weed out those that might be intimidated by our rules and methods and retain only those willing to be 100% transparent,” she said.

Another reason to consider serving this industry? Your credit union probably already does and you don't even realize it. Seefried said many marijuana businesses deposited bank and credit union checks to open their accounts. Most of the accounts were personal ones functioning as business accounts. Others had misleading business names that hid the nature of the business.

Serving legal marijuana retailers is also profitable, because the mismatch between demand and supply allows credit unions to set their own fee schedule without much competition.

Seefried said the business could be as profitable as a credit union wants to make it.

“We have priced it as the low cost provider in the state, but we make what we consider a good enough profit to retain the relationship long term, and not just a short term profit, that would later look like we were not representing the credit union philosophy properly,” she said.

Navigating Safe Harbor: Cannabis Banking in a Time of Uncertainty can be purchased and downloaded at safeharborprivatebanking.com and is available at Amazon.com in both ebook and print versions.