A brief discussion on 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 bank 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 back in the day, most of the various American digital banks 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 operational. During its peak, many netizens criticized Huamei Velo for randomly closing accounts, mainly due to a lack of understanding of some precautions regarding American bank accounts, leading to arbitrary transfers and triggering risk control. My account has been functioning normally for over five years; generally, I follow the rules when using financial accounts and have not encountered any issues. 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 legitimate American bank account that you can open from home without physically going to the U.S. Indeed, there have been cases where users 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 converted $3,500 of the $3,600 in my account into a 6-month fixed deposit with an annualized yield of 3%. However, at the beginning of this month, I was charged a $25 account management fee, even though I clearly had more than $2,500 in my account. After inquiring with customer service, I learned that the conditions to waive the $25 management fee are either a Checking account balance of at least $2,500 or a total average monthly deposit of $10,000 in both Checking and Savings accounts. My original balance of $3,600 in the Checking account met the requirement, but after converting part of it into a fixed deposit, the balance in the Checking account became insufficient, and the combined total of Checking and fixed deposit also fell short, resulting in the management fee being charged. Other users should also pay attention to this point when using Velo Bank. If you want to close a fixed deposit 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 not low now; it depends on whether you have 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 reducing 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 and the Wise route. Once the funds reach Wise, they can be transferred to a Hong Kong bank account, or of course, to an American 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, making transfers to traditional banks in various countries very secure.

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

Velo Digital Bank Electronic Statements Serve as Excellent 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 for other bank accounts or cryptocurrency exchange accounts is 100%, and I have not encountered any rejections so far.