First Trade Union Bank Offering $100 to Open a Virtual Checking Account

First Trade Union Bank is rolling out the welcome mat for its online checking account by providing a $100 bonus to new accounts that meet the qualifying criteria. These criteria include:

• Opening a new First Trade Virtual Checking account between 10/5 and 12/31/11.
• The first $50 will be paid if you enroll in online bill pay and pay one bill through the service by 1/31/2012.
• The other $50 will be paid to you if you set up a direct deposit and have one deposit made through the account by 1/31/2012.
• Your checking account must have a balance over $1 in order for the bonus to be credited.

That's it! Obviously the bill pay and direct deposit requirements are there to prevent bonus shoppers from opening an account just for the cash. First Trade Union wants to open accounts that stick with the bank and direct deposit and bill pay are two of the stickiest services. Other features of the checking account include:

• No minimum balances
• Rebate of ATM fees that other banks charge.
• Interest on balances of $1,000 or more.

The checking account pays 0.25% APY in interest on balances over $1,000 so this is not a super-high yield account. But First Trade Union does have a high yield savings account that pays 0.90% APY, one of the better online savings account rates. Opening the two accounts in tandem may make sense.

First Trade Union Bank is located in Boston, MA and has six branches located in Boston, Rhode Island, and Long Island. In addition, it offers online savings, checking,and CDs. The bank's assets have grown from $407 million in 2006 to $620 million today. The bank's Texas Ratio of 23.39% if slightly higher than the national average of 21.06% but far below the 100% level considered to be a sign of bank problems.