Even though California voters legalized recreational marijuana on Nov. 8, banking services are still difficult to come by for cannabis entrepreneurs.

That’s because federally insured financial institutions don’t want to touch money tainted by transactions still considered illegal under federal law, meaning cash is king for pot shops. However, marijuana retailers are exploring a different type of business relationship with financial institutions: real estate.

Bank branches, to be specific.

“I own a property that has an old bank branch in it and I get calls about it all the time from people wanting to put a dispensary there,” said Kyle Kazan, chief executive of Beach Front Property Management in Long Beach.

With built-in vaults and enhanced security features designed to control customer traffic, consumer banking outposts are ideal spaces for cannabis storefront operations.

“The idea of locating a cannabis business in a former bank building makes a lot of sense,” said Avis Bulbulyan, chief executive of Glendale marijuana consultancy Siva Enterprises Inc. “Banks were designed to provide personal service to customers, control the flow of people, and maintain the highest security measures. These are the top-priority design components of a dispensary. I think it’s a great idea.”

The timing appears to be working in the weed industry’s favor. As online banking continues to displace demand for in-person financial services, financial institutions are closing branches across the country. Wells Fargo & Co. said this month it plans to shutter 400 of its more than 6,000 branches by the end of next year.

But there are hurdles that need to be overcome in this type of arrangement, said Kazan, who recently started a fund to invest specifically in properties that can be used for cannabis business operations. The biggest problem is zoning – pot shops are typically subject to restrictions on where they can operate – and proximity to places such as schools can be deal killers. Kazan’s bank property, for instance, can’t be turned into a dispensary because it’s too close to a city park.

While zoning restrictions can be pitfalls, cannabis storefronts moving into bank spaces could be an attractive proposition to all parties.

Banks and property owners could stand to benefit financially by signing dispensaries as tenants. Because most renters don’t want a property with built-in vaults, banks often have to pay to strip locations that aren’t taken over by another financial institution. If banks and property owners are able to price in vaults as an asset, said Norman Lee, a broker with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank downtown, they could likely add a 50-cent premium per square foot to a lease.

But not everyone in the cannabis industry is high on the bank branch-dispensary model. Andrew Modlin, co-founder and chief operating officer of Culver City marijuana investment and management firm MedMen, said the desire to present a more consumer-friendly retail environment trumps the practical upside of converting a bank branch.

“People want to feel welcome, they want to enjoy their shopping experience and feel like they are being catered to,” said Modlin. “They don’t want to feel like they are conducting a drug deal.”