While it’s clear that physical retail locations aren’t going to disappear tomorrow, there is definitely a shift in the way people conduct their banking. One company that’s taken this “banking 2.0″ philosophy is First National Bank of Omaha, with their Internet banking division FNBO Direct.

Created in 2006, FNBO Direct has found great success in the direct bank space. Originally created of as a tool to expand FNBO’s footprint outside of Nebraska, and as a platform to help balance sheet management, FBNO Direct has quickly become a powerhouse in the direct banking space – Kiplinger’s Best in Online Savings.

“When creating FNBO Direct, we didn’t have a lot of brand awareness, but there was already a segment out there,” said Dan Harley, vice president of marketing. “Fortunately, there were the ING’s out there that already addressed the safety issue of direct banking. So we didn’t have to address that issue, and instead, we could focus on our brand and what differentiates us from other online savings institutions.”

One of the key components for FNBO Direct is its “Pay Yourself First” campaign. Started in 2007, the premise behind PYF is to help individuals save money by paying themselves before they pay their bills. Unlike traditional savings where brands focus on putting money aside after you’re done paying your bills, PYF’s goal is to reward yourself, then take care of your obligations.

“The goal of PYF is really to funnel what you’re saving first, and then spending later,” said Harley. “Social media has played a large role in our campaign. We’ve seen great success from our YouTube channel, as well as a number of other social platforms.”

While there may be little integration between FNBO Direct and the traditional branches, Harley does stress the importance of traditional PR and ensuring a consistent PR strategy across all channels.

“If we’re going to test, we want to test it across all channels,” said Harley. “Whether it’s paid search, online search or traditional medium, we want to make sure we’re being consistent and transparent.”

Moving forward, FNBO Direct seems to be perfectly positioned to continue its success in the online savings space. The key to that success remains continue to monitor conversations and feed off the community and their views.

“We’d be foolish not to embrace and work on developing a strong presence in the online space,” said Harley. “We’re like any other institution in the fact that community is dictating where and when they access their finances. We feel we’re in a great position and we’ll continue to highlight our strengths and stability.”

The Economist recently wrote an article about the power of mobile money that highlighted M-PESA, which launched in Kenya in 2007. An interest stat: Kenya has a population of 38 million, 18.3 million people have mobile phones and 7 million use M-PESA. Not a bad start.

However, upon further reading, the article mentions the struggles that more developed countries are likely to face in their efforts to bring the concept of mobile money. More developed = more regulations = more parties involved. Using this logic, it’s clear why a country like Kenya is having success, yet it’s not highly utilized in European or Asian countries.

Clearly, mobile devices are proving to be the area in which banking and finance needs to concentrate on. Growth and potential if obviously there, but the question of how to maximize this space still remains unanswered. What are your thoughts? Do you think mobile money is a likely option here in the United States and other developed countries?