BMO is one of Canada’s best-known banks and is a top pick among many Canadians. With branches across the country and options for both online and mobile banking, BMO makes it easy for Canadians to access and manage their money. They also have plenty of financial products to choose from including a range of chequing accounts.
To many, a chequing account is a basic account for day-to-day banking. But as banking continues to grow, we’re seeing more options for chequing accounts with different perks and features. From basic to premium to co-branded, this article dives into the best BMO chequing accounts in Canada to better help you pick the best one for your banking needs.
We’ve compared 123 chequing accounts at 19 nationally available banks and credit unions to find some of the best options available. See below to learn more about why we picked each account, the pros and cons, and to access individual bank reviews.
Some of the BMO accounts come with additional benefits, as you can see listed in the summaries above. Often these benefits are additional perks and discounts for other BMO financial products. Common benefits include discounts on annual credit card fees and fees waived for specific BMO savings accounts. The accounts with the higher monthly fees have the most benefits.
While some of these best BMO chequing accounts are labelled as unlimited, there are still some fees and charges to be aware of. Although, some accounts will waive the below fees and/or have special offers for them:
Right now, BMO is offering new clients who open specific chequing accounts a welcome bonus. These range in amount depending on the type of account, but for those BMO accounts discussed above, here are the current offers:
Note: You may be required to take some extra steps to receive these welcome bonuses.
Opening a BMO chequing account is relatively straightforward and can be done physically in person by visiting a branch or, if you prefer, online.
If you would like to do it in person, visit the nearest BMO branch and meet with a representative. Let them know which account you would like to open and they will guide you through the process. To open a BMO chequing account, you will need appropriate documentation. Note that these documents need to be originals, not photocopies.
The documents will need to show two pieces of information:. one will have to have your name and address and the other has to have your name and date of birth. These can include government-issued IDs, such as a passport or driver’s license, Canadian utility bills, tax documents, credit cards or banking statements, etc.
BMO also allows you to open a chequing account online. To do this, you can click on the page of the account you would like to open and follow the instructions. If you are already a customer, a lot of your identifying details will already be in BMO’s system. If not, you will need to disclose . Follow the steps as listed to open your bank account online.
BMO is one of Canada’s “Big Six” banks. It’s been around for years and is used by thousands of Canadians every day. There’s a lot of trust when it comes to this bank, especially with older generations who appreciate brick-and-mortar locations. But, unsurprisingly, reviews are very skewed.
If you look at Trustpilot, you will see plenty of one and two star reviews. However, reading through, you will also notice many of these complaints are about scam calls from people pretending to be BMO, poor timing for system upgrades, and long wait times for phone calls.
Perhaps a better way to judge is by reading the Google reviews of BMO the branches in your neighbourhood. Of course, these also vary in scope, but they are more reflective of the individuals that you are most likely to deal with for your banking needs. A quick look at a few reviews for BMO locations across Ontario show, on average, many branches have three to four stars out of five.
To create this list, Forbes Advisor analyzed 123 savings accounts at 39 financial institutions, including a mix of traditional brick-and-mortar banks, online banks and credit unions. We ranked each account on 17 data points within the categories of fees, access, customer experience, digital experience, annual percentage yield, plus the minimums and balance needed to avoid the monthly maintenance fee.
The following is the weighting assigned to each category:
Specific characteristics taken into consideration within each category included monthly fee, ability to waive the monthly fee, overdraft fee, NSF fee, other fees, ATM network, branch access, Better Business Bureau rating, Trustpilot rating, live chat availability, mobile app ratings, online bill pay availability, online banking access, minimum deposit requirements and minimum balance requirements.
Chequing accounts offering no or very low fees scored the highest, as did those offering low minimum requirements and high customer service and digital experience scores. To appear on this list, the chequing account must be nationally available.
Our research is based on information from the following financial institutions: RBC, TD, BMO, National Bank, CIBC, Scotiabank, UNI Financial, Canadian Western Bank, Coast Capital Savings, Digital Commerce Bank, EQ Bank, First Nations Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank, Manulife Bank, Motus Bank, Peoples Bank of Canada, Simplii Financial, Tangerine Bank, VanCity, VersaBank, HSBC, Home Bank, ICICI Bank Canada, SBI Canada Bank, CTBC Bank, Bank of China (Canada), KEB Hana Bank Canada, Shinhan Bank Canada, Meridian Credit Union, Servus Credit Union, Envision Financial, Steinbach Credit Union, Affinity Credit Union, Prospera Credit Union, Conexus Credit Union, ConnectFirst Credit Union, Access Credit Union, Assiniboine Credit Union.
Featured Partner Offer
1
BMO Performance Chequing Account
Limited offer
Through July 2, 2024, earn up to $600 after opening a Performance Chequing Account with an Eligible Bank Plan and a Savings Amplifier Account and add a family member as part of the Family Bundle.
Transactions
Unlimited everyday banking transactions for a competitive monthly price of $17.95 ($4,000 minimum balance to waive fee)
Interest rate
5.5% promotional interest rate when you add a Savings Amplifier Account.
BMO accounts listed above do not list minimum balances for opening those accounts. However, there may be a minimum balance requirement if you want to waive the monthly fee. This varies by account.
The ATM withdrawal limit for a BMO chequing account is $1,000. At the point-of-sale, the limit is $5,000.
To close a BMO chequing account you will need to either call BMO and speak to a representative or visit a branch in person. You cannot close a BMO account online.
There are no specific no-fee chequing accounts at BMO but some account types will waive the monthly fee if you maintain a certain minimum amount in the account.
Some BMO chequing accounts will waive the monthly fee as long as you keep a specified minimum amount in the account at all times. This amount varies by account.
If you open the BMO Premium Chequing Account, free cheques are included as one of the perks and benefits for this account.
The services provided by BMO bank accounts vary depending on the type of account you choose. All accounts offer Interac e-Transfers, but when it comes to the number of free transactions, extra security and other perks and benefits it will depend on the specific banking account.
