The Nationwide Bank continues to offer their high interest money market account the pays up to 2.79% APY. The minimum deposit to open this account is a mere $1000, which is a small sum for a money market account.

This MMA can hold more than $100,000 of funds, and has a fixed 2.79% APY. It’s a fairly competitive yield among money market rates being offered across the US today.

A maintenance fee of $8.00 will be deducted from the funds whenever the depositor fails to meet the daily maintaining balance for the account. This maintenance balance is also $1000, which actually means that the depositor only needs to maintain his/her initial deposit.

As of today, there is no indicated waiver for senior citizens and/or holders of custodial accounts. Other banks may offer this option.

Like other MMAs, Nationwide Bank’s money market account is also synchronized with federal guidelines. The account holder is limited to six pre-authorized withdrawals monthly, including electronic and telephone transactions. No more than three of these may be done by check or through point-of-sale.

On the plus side, the fine print of the MMA’s terms and conditions indicate that this withdrawal limit does not include direct Nationwide Bank ATM transactions. Neither does this transaction limit cover the frequency of withdrawals that a depositor can make over the counters of any Nationwide Bank branches.

Apparently, the limit does not touch on transactions made by mail either. As a wise depositor, you should ask their costumer service representative about these other means of transaction. There may be hidden fees not indicated on their website. It always pays to be cautious when you’re dealing with money.

Nationwide Bank ATMs are connected to banking institutions across the US. You may make transactions using non-Nationwide Bank ATMs. Take note, though, that only a maximum of two transactions in a month are free. You will be charged $1.50 for every transaction after that. On the other hand, the bank also states that all account statements, whether on paper or online, are free.

This money market account also offers free money transfers to and from your Nationwide Bank account and other banks. Nationwide Bank’s website doesn’t indicate any maximum number of Nationwide MMAs per depositor. This account also offers certain check writing privileges.

Interested depositors may apply for the account online. All US citizens 18 years of age and older are eligible for membership, as long as they could provide the following IDs: a driver’s license or a military ID.

The depositor also needs to provide proof that s/he has been living in his/her current address for the past five years. You will also be asked for your Social Security number and valid email address.

If you don’t have a fax machine at home, you may want to prepare a scanned file of these documents before applying. They offer a 24-hour phone banking service for all of their accounts, so you may contact a phone banker to inquire. Some details of account application are also in the bank’s website.

This money market rate is accurate as of February 6, 2009. I’ve noticed that their rates tend to change almost weekly, so it would be wise to check the website and call their costumer service representative just to be sure.

In terms of banking soundness, Nationwide Bank is among the most stable banking institutions in the US. It won the Top Tier Award from Bankrate.com during the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008. The bank is also insured by the FDIC.