Let's briefly discuss the role of the American Huamei Velo Digital Bank in the process of cryptocurrency withdrawals.

Review of Huamei Velo Digital Bank Usage#

I opened a Velo digital bank account in 2019 through the BBAE securities channel. The entire process of account opening and receiving the physical card only required my ID and didn't cost a dime, making me one of the early adopters of Velo digital bank. I won't go into detail about Velo here, as there are many posts online. Compared to many other digital banks, I believe Velo is the most reliable one. Velo is a digital banking product developed by East West Bank, and at that time, most of the various digital banks in the U.S. were projects created in collaboration between tech companies and traditional banks. As of the end of 2024, after the dust has settled, almost only Huamei Velo digital bank remains. When it was gaining popularity, many netizens complained about Huamei Velo, citing issues like account closures, mainly due to a lack of understanding of some precautions regarding U.S. bank accounts, leading to random transfers and risk control issues. My account has been functioning normally for over five years; generally, I follow the rules with financial accounts and haven't encountered any problems. What you once looked down upon is now something you can't reach; over the years, Huamei Velo digital bank has continuously raised the account opening threshold, and now there is a $300 account opening fee and a minimum deposit requirement of $25,000. However, this is currently the only authentic U.S. bank account that you can open from home without physically going to the U.S. There have indeed been cases where users previously canceled their accounts and later reopened them.

Recently, Velo Digital Bank Charged a $25 Account Management Fee#

The benefit of opening an account with Velo Bank is that you only need to maintain a minimum deposit of $2,500 to waive the $25 monthly management fee. Last month, I deposited $3,500 of the $3,600 in my account into a 6-month fixed deposit with an annualized yield of 3%, but at the beginning of this month, I was charged a $25 account management fee. My account clearly had more than $2,500; why was I still charged the management fee? After inquiring with customer service, I learned that the condition to waive the $25 management fee is that either the Checking account must have at least $2,500, or the combined total of the Checking account and Savings account must meet an average monthly deposit of $10,000. My Checking account's $3,600 originally met the requirement, but after part of it was deposited into a fixed account, the balance in the Checking account became insufficient, and the total of Checking and fixed accounts also fell short, resulting in the management fee being charged. Other users of Velo Bank should pay attention to this point. If you want to close a fixed account early and convert it to a Checking account, you must contact customer service for manual processing and will incur a "penalty."

Can You Still Open an Account with Huamei Velo Digital Bank?#

Of course, you can, but the threshold is now not low; it depends on whether there is a genuine need.

Prepare your ID documents and follow the steps; everything is in Chinese, so it's not difficult, and the physical card will be mailed to your home.

What Role Can Huamei Velo Digital Bank Play in Compliant Cryptocurrency Withdrawals?#

From my observation, the concept of compliant "cryptocurrency card withdrawals" and "institutional withdrawals" is becoming increasingly popular, greatly avoiding legal risks such as frozen accounts caused by receiving dirty money.

In terms of institutional withdrawals, based on various user shares, most recommend the Kraken exchange—using Wise as a pathway. Once the funds reach Wise, they can be transferred to a Hong Kong bank account, or of course, to a U.S. bank account like Velo digital bank, and then withdrawn globally using the Velo bank card. Wise is a globally compliant EMI electronic money institution and does not engage in cryptocurrency business; transferring funds to traditional banks in various countries through Wise is very safe.

Velo digital bank cards allow the first two ATM withdrawals each month to be fee-free, but the daily withdrawal limit is only $515, and the ATM itself has a limit on the cash dispensed per transaction. If you plan to achieve "zero-cost withdrawals" without incurring any fees, you won't be able to withdraw much each month. Overall, Velo digital bank is an alternative route for withdrawals through Wise.

Velo Digital Bank Electronic Statements Are Very Effective as Proof of Address in English#

After all, Huamei Bank is a major domestic bank in the U.S., and the PDF electronic statements generated by Velo serve as authentic proof of address in English. In practical tests, the success rate for verifying addresses when registering other bank accounts or cryptocurrency exchange accounts is 100%, and I have not encountered any rejections.