Is First Horizon the same as First Tennessee?

First Tennessee was rebranded as First Horizon Bank in 2019.

How many branches does First Horizon have?

The bank has over 400 banking centers across the Southeast.

Is First Horizon a good bank?

First Horizon is a good bank for people who are looking for a full-service bank that has competitive rates.

Is First Horizon a real bank?

Yes, First Horizon was established in 1864 and currently holds over $80 billion in assets.

Does First Horizon charge monthly fees?

Yes, First Horizon does charge monthly fees on the majority of its accounts. However, it offers ways to have those fees waived.

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First Horizon Bank Review: Multiple Checking Options and Low Minimum Deposits

Name: First Horizon Bank Review: Multiple Checking Options and Low Minimum Deposits
Item: First Horizon Bank
Rating: 4.2

January 17, 2024

8 min Read

Written by Cynthia Measom

Edited by Caitlyn Moorhead

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GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

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GOBankingRates Score

First Horizon Bank

4.2

SCORE

Quick Take: First Horizon Bank is a good option for people looking for a community-oriented bank that focuses on its customers as opposed to larger national banks with less personal service. Though it does charge monthly maintenance fees, they can be waived if customers meet qualifying activities. Plus, minimum opening deposits are affordable.

Checking Accounts

4.5
Savings Accounts

4.0
CD Accounts

4.1
Money Market Accounts

4.3
Banking Experience

4.2

How did we calculate this?

Pros

Variety of checking options
Affordable minimum deposits
Comprehensive digital banking assistance resources

Cons

Higher APYs available elsewhere
Monthly fees on accounts

First Horizon Bank Overview

First Horizon Bank is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and offers a wide variety of personal banking products, including checking, savings and money market accounts and CDs. Accounts do have monthly maintenance fees, but the bank offers options for waiving them.

Additionally, First Horizon does require minimum opening deposits, but they are affordable. GOBankingRates has ranked First Horizon Bank among the Best Southeast Regional Banks of 2024.

First Horizon Bank Review: Key Features

First Horizon also offers a variety of products and services, including mortgage loans and credit cards. Aside from these offerings, there are the more notable financial products up for review. The following is a breakdown of First Horizon Bank’s key features, which are what most people consider when choosing a new bank.

Checking Accounts

First Horizon Bank offers three checking account options. Here are the details for each account.

FirstView Checking

FirstView Checking is First Horizon’s standard, non-interest-bearing checking account. It has a $50 minimum opening deposit, and as long as you enroll in paperless statements, there’s no monthly service charge. The account also comes with a complimentary Traditional Savings account.

SmartView Checking

SmartView Checking is an interest-bearing account that requires a $50 minimum opening deposit and has a $15 monthly service charge. However, the bank will refund the monthly service charge when you have at least one direct deposit or bill payment per statement cycle and any of the following:

$5,000 average daily balance
$25,000 average daily balance in total balances across all accounts
$2,500 in monthly First Horizon credit card purchases

When you qualify for a refunded monthly service charge, you’ll also be eligible for bonus interest on your SmartView checking balance and additional tenure-based bonus interest on the first $25,000 of your balance. The account also allows free ATM transactions — in or out of network — and comes with a complimentary Money Market Savings account.

TotalView Checking

TotalView Checking is an interest-bearing account that requires a $50 minimum opening deposit and has a $25 monthly service charge. However, the monthly fee can be waived if you have an average daily balance of $15,000 across all checking accounts and make a monthly direct deposit or bill payment. You will also have to do one of the following:

$100,000 in total consumer deposits, wealth and mortgage balances
$5,000 in monthly debit and/or credit card purchases

Both in- and out-of-network ATM transactions are free, and foreign ATM and surcharge fees are rebated. Additionally, this account comes with free paper statements, higher daily debit card limits, up to $25 in wire fees rebated per month and bonus interest on the checking account balance.

Savings Accounts

All it takes is $50 to open a Traditional Savings account at First Horizon, which currently pays APY. The account does have a quarterly maintenance fee of $5, but as long as you maintain a $250 minimum daily balance, the bank will waive it. Additionally, you can link your savings account to your First Horizon checking account as a form of overdraft protection and to provide 24-hour access to your funds via ATM.

CD Accounts

First Horizon Bank CDs offer competitive yields. Here’s a look at each CD option.

Regular CDs

Regular CDs have a $1,000 minimum opening deposit and have term options from one month to 60 months. The highest rate is currently on the longer terms — 180 days or longer. These accounts will earn APY.

Add-On CDs

Add-On CDs are perfect if you want to open a CD for less than $1,000. These CDs require a minimum opening of $500. You can add to your CD at almost any time through a one-time or recurring automatic transfer from a linked First Horizon account, as long as the deposit is at least $25.

The CD automatically renews every six months and earns an APY of . One penalty-free withdrawal is allowed once every six months.

Money Market Accounts

Money Market Savings, First Horizon Bank’s only money market account option, works a lot like a traditional savings account. You can get started for just $50, which makes it affordable. Plus, the account features tiered interest rates, so you’ll earn more money in interest as you save more.

The account does have a $9 monthly service fee, but the bank will waive it if you have a qualifying checking account or if your total combined balance across all First Horizon accounts is at least $5,000. You can also get overdraft protection if you link this to your checking account.

Banking Experience

The fastest way to reach First Horizon is to call client services at the customer service number, 800-382-5465. Bank representatives answer calls Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. For non-urgent matters, the bank also allows for secure email messaging via its website and by logging into Digital Banking, but it could take one to two days to get a reply.

Here are some other key takeaways about banking with First Horizon Bank:

The digital experience provided by First Horizon Bank includes online and mobile access, with apps for both Android and iOS users.
The bank offers a convenient and easy way to get the answers you need to your digital banking questions. It has a Digital Banking Help page on its site dedicated to questions and issues you may have.
The bank also offers wealth management services led by experienced and certified financial advisors who can help you with financial planning, including investments.
Additionally, you can purchase life insurance, disability income insurance and long-term care insurance for security and peace of mind.

Comparable Banking Options

To get the big picture about a particular bank, it can help to compare it to its competitors. Here’s a quick look at how First Horizon Bank stacks up.

First Horizon Bank vs. Fifth Third Bank

Fifth Third Bank offers some checking options that do not require a minimum deposit, which First Horizon cannot compete with because all of its checking options require a $50 minimum deposit. However, First Horizon Bank offers much higher standard CD rates compared to Fifth Third Bank’s standard CD rates of APY.

First Horizon Bank vs. First Republic Bank

First Republic Bank has a highly rated app, however, while First Republic Bank does have a basic checking option that requires a low $25 opening deposit, its other two checking options require a $500 minimum opening deposit, which is 10 times higher than the minimum opening deposit of $50 for all of First Horizon’s checking options.

Final Take To GO

If you’re looking for an affordable full-service bank with rates that are better than some national offerings, and you live in its service area, First Horizon Bank is worth considering. At First Horizon, you’ll need $50 to open most accounts, which is affordable. For these reasons and more, GOBankingRates has ranked First Horizon Bank among the Best Southeast Regional Banks of 2024.

First Horizon Bank FAQ

Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about First Horizon Bank.

Is First Horizon the same as First Tennessee?
- First Tennessee was rebranded as First Horizon Bank in 2019.
How many branches does First Horizon have?
- The bank has over 400 banking centers across the Southeast.
Is First Horizon a good bank?
- First Horizon is a good bank for people who are looking for a full-service bank that has competitive rates.
Is First Horizon a real bank?
- Yes, First Horizon was established in 1864 and currently holds over $80 billion in assets.
Does First Horizon charge monthly fees?
- Yes, First Horizon does charge monthly fees on the majority of its accounts. However, it offers ways to have those fees waived.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 12, 2024.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To discover the Best Regional Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top regional institutions (excluding online banks and neobanks) located in under 25 states. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) checking product minimum deposit; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) savings product minimum deposit; (5) savings product APY; (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1), (2) and (4) were weighted 0.5 times; factor (5) was weighted 2.5 times; and factor (7) was weighted 1.5 times.

For regional breakdowns, the same methodology as above was used. The regions were broken down into the following: West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX); Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI); Southeast (AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, LA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV); and Northeast (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT). To be considered for a region, a bank had to have a branch in one of the states listed and be headquartered in that state/region.