US Bank is NOT Crypto Friendly

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Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by usbank-crypto.com are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of US Bank. usbank-crypto.com is not affiliated or endorsed by U.S. Bank N.A. in any way.

TL;DR

US Bank closed my accounts because I didn't divulge my customer information to them. Find a bank that won't harass you about transactions to and from Coinbase or any other crypto exchange. Nearly every bank offers free checking so the switch should be really easy. To add, Ethereum has a slew of interest bearing smart-contracts that will pay you interest for making your funds securely available to others. You can pull your money at any time and it's highly secure. You don't need a bank (that pays a terrible interest rate) to keep your money safe. It's never been easier to keep your cash in crypto and let it work for you. Here's a list for you to review:

First Contact

I received multiple voicemails from the Customer Outreach Department with a short reference number. The message seemed more like a scam call than anything important. So I ignored it, for awhile. Then I thought, why not talk to these guys, but be cautious of what information I shared.

When calling the number left by the voicemail, a man quickly picked up the phone and, without pleasantries, asked for the reference number. Once confirmed and my name was given, he asked what my relationship with Coinbase is and what was the purpose of the transactions with Coinbase. Without providing any transaction detail, I said I get paid in crypto and I transfer to my bank account to pay my bills. He then asked if I do business with other banks and which banks are they, I said "yes, of course and none of your business". The remainder of the conversation was a blur because I was upset that U.S. Bank. would be so intrusive to ask who I do business with.

Follow-up

The pandemic went into full swing and I didn't hear from them again for several months. Finally, it seems people went back to work in late May, early June and I received letters this time.

Important information regarding your banking relationship - reference ID

Regarding Account number ending in [ACCOUNT]

reference ID# [ID] to more effectively address your account

Dear [PERSON],
Thank you for maintaining your account with us. To help keep your account running smoothly, we periodically request confirmation of certain bank transactions or an update of your account information. This confirmation is part of US Bank’s Know Your Customer Program to better protect and serve our clients while also meeting regulatory requirements to prevent illicit financial activity.

Please contact us by [DATE]

Your banking relationship and the security of your account is very important to us, so we ask that you please contact us by the date above by calling our office at 1-866-282-3405 Monday through Friday 8:00am-7:00pm EST.

Feel free to also contact or visit your local branch.

Special Note: To safeguard your account, if we do not hear from you by the date listed above, your account may be blocked to prevent deposits, withdrawals, and other banking transactions.

Best regards
Customer Outreach Department
Phone: (866)282-3405
[email protected]
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC.

So I emailed the CDDO Customer Outreach Department and asked what this was in reference to. I didn't hear back, so I emailed again several days later. Then a response,

Good afternoon,
I apologize for the delay. This is a follow up with you regarding account information that needs to be updated. You previously spoke to a representative regarding transactions on the account for the review. There was information that is still needed in order to submit the review for completion.

Thank you
[email protected]

I respond saying I look forward to hearing back from them with details of the information needed. A day later, I receive this, no attachments, no details of the transactions:

The questions are listed below. If you have any questions feel free to follow up.

Does the customer have banking account relationships outside of USB? If so, please list the financial institution and the purpose of the account.

What is the source of the customer's account credit activity (Coinbase and Wire) as described in the summary?

What is the purpose and what are the funds being used for? What is our customers relationship to the originator(s) of the credits?

[email protected]

Seems they want to know where the money, being transferred from Coinbase to my checking account is coming from. It seems to me that US bank is not familiar with crypto or the AML/KYC process one has to go through on Coinbase to be able exchange crypto<->fiat. It leaves me to believe that US bank has very little tolerance for crypto exchanges and is unable to verify information with Coinbase. Regardless, I'm not about to provide US Bank with my customer list and what projects I've been paid for. If these were transactions from any other bank, they wouldn't be questioning me and I would argue, that others wouldn't be required to provide such information.

Now I'm Feeling Harassed

So I let them know:

"After this second round of questioning, I am beginning to feel harassed. All of my accounts are in good standing, I have an exceptional credit score and I have been a long time customer of US Bank."

And the response:

I apologize if you feel that you are being harassed.
Periodically U.S. Bank conduct reviews to update the client’s profile in accordance with the banking regulations. The customer profile should allow the financial institution to understand all facets of the customer’s intended relationship with the institution. I can send you a little information to review to give more detail for the purpose of the questions being asked.

[email protected]

CTR Reference Guide

Of course, I ask for more information. Here's What I get...

I have attached a reference guide in the attachment section giving more detail of the review. We made prior attempts, but when you spoke with a representative the information provided was not enough explanation to update the record. As far as the address book, our side is mainly to make contact to obtain the information from the analyst conducting the review.

[email protected]

Who is this "Analyst"? Wow. How ambiguous does US Bank need to be. It seems there is more to this story but they aren't going to tell me. So, why not tell me what's going on with my accounts and this "Analyst"? How much information are they going to want if I were to provide my client list?

Account Closing Notice

Closing Accounts

Then I received letters stating that they haven't heard from me and they are closing my accounts (checking and credit). And two weeks later, that's exactly what happened, I received a letter from..

IRS letter

Bank Change

I moved my accounts to Ally Bank which has been recommended as a crypto-friendly bank.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of all of this, I understand it is US Bank's choice on who they do business with, and that's fine. I'm more upset that I haven't done anything wrong, I've been an excellent customer with no debts to US Bank and an excellent credit score. I didn't deserve to be booted out of my accounts. I want to make my experience known to others that are interested in crypto and that do business with US Bank, or any other crypto-intolerant bank, and show that this could easily happen to you. This is a great example of why we need crypto and it's time we have complete control of our hard earned money.