FNBO Direct Account Up and Running

It’s indeed a short process, and quite smooth as well.

I applied for an FNBO Direct Savings account last Thursday, two small trial deposits showed up in my Bank of America checking account on Friday, and after confirming the deposits, I was informed on Saturday that my new account is ready. Yesterday, I enrolled for online access, set up external bank transfers, and initiated first fund transfer from HSBC to FNBO. The whole process took only two days, the shortest among all the online banks I have used so far.

FNBO’s user interface is very simple, no fancy functions but enough to meet my requirements: transfer money and earn interests. In fact, Transfer Funds, as shown above, is the probably the only practical function FNBO offers, besides the regular maintenance services such as a change password and mailing address, etc. After enrolling my account for online access, I was able to set up external links to my accounts at HSBC and IGoBanking and initiated a transfer request. Unlike IGoBanking, which asked me to verify my identity twice and had to mail me my password in a rather lengthy process, FNBO makes everything straightforward. During the enrollment, I was asked to answer three security questions (again) and one personalized sentence that will show up every time before logging into my account.

Currently, it seems that FNBO only offers standard 3-day fund transfer through ACH. With IGoBanking, I have another option to transfer up to $2,000 in one business day. Another difference I noticed is that IGoBanking has a monthly fund transfer-out limit of $20,000 while FNBO says the daily transfer limit is $25,000. Regarding external fund transfer at FNBO:

The first deposit you make to your FNBO Direct account will be subject to a hold. Funds from that deposit will not be available for transfer or withdrawal until after the sixth business day following the day the first deposit is deducted from your funding account. Interest, however, will begin to accrue no later than the business day we receive credit for your deposit (typically, this will be 2-3 business days after the first deposit is deducted from your funding account).

As long as I am not losing any interests, I am fine with the extra holding period which, according to the policy, is only applicable to the first deposit instead of every one.

So far from what I have experienced, FNBO seems to be quite easy to deal with: fast application, easy to use interface, and higher transfer limit. And the nearly 4-month long 6.00% APY promotion period is certainly better than what HSBC has offered early this year. To apply for an account, you will need the following items:

1. Your Social Security or Tax ID Number.
2. Your Driver’s License or ID card issued by a state DMV.
3. Information about any loans or mortgages that you may have to help us confirm your identity.
4. For instant funding, you will need your current bank account and routing numbers.
5. If applying for a joint account, you will need the Secondary Applicant’s name, Social Security or Tax ID Number, and Date of Birth.

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