BMO is one of the oldest incorporated banks in Canada, founded in 1817 as the Bank of Montreal.
The bank has been a significant player in Canadian history, financing the country’s first railways and playing a role in both World Wars. Today, BMO is one of the Big Five banks in Canada, with over 900 branches across the country.
BMO offers a wide range of personal and commercial banking products and services to meet the needs of its customers. In addition to traditional products like savings accounts and mortgages, BMO offers specialized products like travel insurance and business loans. And with their recent merger with the U.S. -based CIBC, BMO now has a significantly increased presence in the United States.
With over 900 branches across Canada and a substantial presence in the United States, BMO offers a wide range of personal and commercial banking products and services to meet the needs of its customers.
BMO’s focus on customer service is evident in its commitment to providing 24/7 support for its online banking platform. In addition, they offer a wide range of specialized products and services like travel insurance, business loans, and investment advice.
Recent history
BMO was founded in 1817 and is the oldest bank in Canada. It was started by a group of Montreal merchants responding to the War of 1812.
The bank became an essential source of financing for the Canadian government during the 19th century. It also financed the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In 1918, BMO merged with the Molsons Bank, which made BMO the largest bank in Canada. The Great Depression hit BMO hard and it was only saved by a merger with the Peoples Bank in 1931. BMO provided financial assistance to the Canadian and British governments during World War II.
BMO expanded into the United States in 1984 with the purchase of Harris Bank. In 2001, it purchased Midwest Banking Corporation, which increased its U.S presence to 500 branches. In 2007, BMO acquired AIG’s Canadian credit card business, making it one of Canada’s largest credit card issuers.
BMO weathered the 2008 Financial Crisis better than most banks due to its conservative lending practices. However, it still took a $1 billion writedown on its U.S subprime mortgage portfolio. In 2013, BMO agreed to buy Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp for $4.1 billion, which increased its U.S presence to around 800 branches.
Services offered by BMO
BMO offers a comprehensive suite of personal banking products and services that can benefit everyone, from students to seniors.
Free Student Banking
BMO’s student banking program is designed to help students make the most of their money with no monthly fees, free Interac e-Transfers, and more. Students can also take advantage of exclusive discounts and offers, like waived annual fees on select credit cards and special rates on student lines of credit.
No-Fee Chequing Accounts
BMO offers chequing accounts with no monthly fees for seniors, newcomers to Canada and students. You can also choose from a variety of account packages that best suit your needs, whether you prefer digital banking or want the convenience of having a branch nearby.
Affordable Lending Solutions
BMO provides affordable lending solutions to help you reach your financial goals sooner. With competitive rates on personal loans, lines of credit and mortgages, BMO has the right solution for you. You can also take advantage of free advice from our team of Personal Banking Specialists to find the best way to borrow based on your unique needs and situation.
Rewards Programs
Make your everyday spending work harder for you with a BMO rewards credit card. Earn points towards travel, merchandise and gift cards, or redeem your points for cash back – it’s up to you! You can also participate in the AIR MILES Reward Program with a BMO AIR MILES Mastercard and earn miles on all your purchases, which you can later redeem for flights, hotels, car rentals and more.
Service reliability
Nothing is more frustrating as a customer than trying to access your bank account or make important transactions only to have the service fail. This is where service reliability comes in.
As a customer of BMO, you want to trust that their services will be available when needed, allowing you to effectively manage your money and make important financial decisions without worry. And in the rare instance of an outage, we have dedicated this page to collecting service outage reports so that BMO’s customers can be quickly made aware of any potential outages.
Outages map
Have you ever been in the middle of an important work email or transaction, and suddenly, the internet goes out? It can be frustrating and disruptive, but thanks to our outage map, BMO’s customers can now see where outages are happening and plan.
This localized map shows individual outage reports and which cities or provinces are currently experiencing issues. This means that customers can prepare for potential internet disruptions, whether finding a new location to work or rescheduling an important online meeting.
The second chart will show any increase in service outage reports for BMO’s services today compared to last week. If the number of outage reports received over the week steadily increases, this means that the service quality has been continuously declining over the past week. This could indicate a potential problem with BMO’s services during that time.
However, it is essential to note that this chart only shows outage reports for the past week, so it may not be representative of overall trends and patterns. Further analysis and data would be needed to determine if a more significant issue is at play. Nonetheless, the chart does provide helpful insight into potential trouble spots for BMO’s services.
The third chart provides information on the number of problem reports received each day in the current year. By examining this data, we can understand the frequency of issues experienced by BMO users.
The chart might also show several days with no reported cases and some with a high volume of problems. This may indicate that certain periods or specific factors lead to a greater likelihood of issues arising.
Most common problems reported in the last 48 hours
The table below shows BMO customers’ most frequent problems reported in the last 48 hours.
Are you currently experiencing problems with BMO? Share your thoughts, tips, and frustrations with others using the form below.
