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The royal rumble of major banks offering high-yield savings account now has one more competitor. About a month ago, the First National Bank of Omaha decided to jump into the online savings market through a division they now call FNBO Direct. We decided to review their no-fees, no-minimums 5.25% APY savings account.

First National Bank of Omaha is a very well established bank. It’s the third largest privately held bank in North America and has over $17 billion in managed assets. It has offices in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Texas. It has about 7,500 employees and a number of subsidiary companies. It’s the fifth largest in house credit card processor and the sixth largest merchant processor. Oddly enough, First National Bank was the first United States company to use fuel cell technology as a primary power source. This bank is not the biggest, but it’s certainly no small potatoes.

The account it self offers a very competitive rate of 5.25% APY. This is about where the top of the market sits right now with a couple of exceptions, but those are really just promotional rates to grab in new customers. Although FNBO Direct has a high rate now, there’s always the possibility that it could do what a lot of other banks do when they first start online savings accounts and lower rates after an initial flurry of new applications. They don’t yet have an established history of being at the top of the interest rate market, but only time will tell if they stay at the top, or pull an ING Direct.

The account has some pretty standard features otherwise. You need $1.00 to open the account, and after opening it there are no fees to speak of and no minimum balance required to earn interest. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. You will receive an ATM card that you can use at any of their ATMs for no fee and can make up to 5 withdrawals totaling $1000 per day. In order to deposit money you can use electronic transfers, wire transfers, direct deposit, or you can mail them a check. Currently BankRate.com does not have a rating for FNBO Direct.

Normally one should be very hesitant to open an account at a new online savings bank, but First National Bank of Omaha already has an extensive online operation and plenty of experience in the area. They make use of the Cashedge transaction system which isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, but it gets the job done. Overall it seems like a very good account with no drawbacks, a great interest rate, and a very good feature set.

Looking for an Online Savings account? Getting Green Recommends ING Direct. Earn 4.50% annual percentage yield with the Orange Savings Account – No Fees, No Minimums & No need to change banks! FDIC Insured. Click Here For More Information.



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