 In the United States, many online banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and can offer the same level of protection for the customers' funds as traditional banks.One of the world's first fully functional direct banks was First Direct, which launched telephone banking in the United Kingdom on 1 October 1989.A subsidiary of the then Midland Bank, it pioneered the concepts of no branches and 24-hour service through a call center.