Bank of Montreal

Universal bank · Montreal, Canada

Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest bank, founded in Montreal in 1817, with its legal head office in Montreal and executive offices in Toronto. It reports about 13 million customers and total assets near CA$1.5 trillion, and it is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets. Its US arm BMO Bank N.A. serves roughly 4 million clients and operates in 29 of the top 50 US metropolitan areas. For businesses it offers Canadian and US chequing accounts, a Business Premium Rate Savings account with tiered interest, Moneris merchant services, wires in more than 40 currencies, and trade finance through BMO Capital Markets. Online account opening is limited to sole proprietorships and single-owner corporations; other structures must visit a branch.

Legal name: Bank of Montreal
Regulated by: OSFI (Canada), FCAC (Canada), FINTRAC (Canada), OCC and Federal Reserve (BMO Bank N.A., US), Central Bank of Ireland (Bank of Montreal Europe plc), FCA (BMO Capital Markets Limited, UK)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1817
Website: www.bmo.com

Scores, 0 to 10

10.0Canada

Big Six Schedule I bank with institution number 001, full domestic rails and CAD plus USD business accounts. · source

8.0Financial strength & stability

Issuer ratings of Aa2, A+, AA+ and AA with stable outlooks and DBRS confirmation of AA in its latest review; BMO is a Canadian D-SIB, not a G-SIB. · source

7.5United States

BMO Bank N.A. serves about 4 million US clients in 29 of the top 50 metropolitan areas with full ACH and Fedwire access, but foreign founders are not addressed in published onboarding rules. · source

7.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

BMO Capital Markets issues, confirms and discounts documentary letters of credit, standby LCs, guarantees, documentary collections and buyer credits, with trade finance staff in China. · source

7.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

BMO's business credit cards are all Mastercard (Ascend, Blue Rewards, CashBack) and multiple employee cards can be issued on one account. · source

6.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Business wires go out in over 40 currencies and Global Pay reaches over 30 destinations, but FX margins are not published. BMO Capital Markets Global Transaction Banking offers cash management, supply chain finance and wires in 40+ currencies across Canada, the US and EMEA, but cash pooling in 30+ countries is not offered. · source

6.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Moneris, the acquirer BMO co-owns with RBC, provides online and in-store acquiring, and BMO business chequing clients get unlimited Moneris transactions. BMO's business card page lists no accounting integrations or API, and the business accounts page timed out today. · source

6.0Startups & VC-backed companies

A dedicated Technology & Innovation Banking Group has existed since April 2019 with national venture capital coverage. · source

5.0Lowest fees

The Business Current Account costs $6 per month with pay-per-use transactions and no minimum balance, a typical incumbent fee structure. · source

5.0Best interest on business balances

Business Premium Rate Savings pays 1.15% to 1.90% depending on balance tier with no monthly fee, plus a 3.00% promotional rate on new deposits until 31 October 2026. · source

5.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

BMO told the Globe and Mail it provides deposit accounts to legally operating cannabis businesses case by case and served at least 12 companies. · source

4.5Fast digital onboarding

Only sole proprietorships and single-owner corporations can open online; other structures must book a branch appointment and the company must be registered in Canada. · source

4.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Canadian banks including BMO require business registration documents and IDs of authorized representatives, usually with a branch visit. · source

4.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Bank of Montreal Europe plc in Dublin has held an Irish banking licence since 1996 and serves corporate and capital markets clients from London, Dublin and Paris with about 450 staff, not SMEs. · source

4.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

BMO set up a Technology & Innovation Banking Group in 2019 for tech companies, but publishes no safeguarding, BaaS or sponsor-bank programme for payment firms. · source

4.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

A January 2026 exchange guide calls BMO the cautious Canadian bank, with more manual reviews on large transfers to exchanges and a strict ban on credit card crypto purchases, and the OCC found in December 2025 that BMO Bank N.A. was among nine US banks that restricted digital asset firms in 2020 to 2023. · source

4.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

A 2026 Canadian bank review says BMO handles crypto-related transfers case by case and has blocked some cards after crypto activity; no published process for business crypto proceeds exists, so evidence is thin and retail. · source

3.5United Kingdom

BMO Capital Markets Limited is an FCA-regulated London entity serving corporate and institutional clients; no UK business current accounts are offered. · source

3.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

BMO ChinaCo was the first Canadian bank incorporated in China in 2010 and BMO runs trade finance from Asia for exporters and banks, but there is no SME banking in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan or Korea. · source

3.5Crypto-friendly bank

BMO publishes no policy for onboarding crypto exchanges or VASPs; its digital asset work is a tokenized deposit platform for regulated institutions announced in March 2026. · source

3.5Bitcoin

BMO InvestorLine offers no spot crypto and gives bitcoin exposure only through ETFs such as the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which is retail price exposure without coins or transfers, per a 2025 broker review. · source

3.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot score is 1.3 from 1,157 reviews, while J.D. Power's 2025 Canada study ranked BMO third among the Big 5 with 606 points. · source

3.0Ethereum

InvestorLine trades TSX-listed ETFs, which include ether funds, but no BMO page names an ether product and there is no ether custody or transfer, so exposure is ETF-only and thinly documented. · source

3.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

BMO plans tokenized cash for regulated institutional clients of CME Group in the second half of 2026 pending approval, with tokenized deposits for B2B payments to follow; this is bank money, not a stablecoin, and it was not confirmed live by September 2026. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

BMO holds no crypto for any client: InvestorLine's own guide says it does not support virtual currencies, and the March 2026 tokenized cash plan covers dollars, not crypto assets, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

No crypto or stablecoin acceptance for merchants was found in BMO's business pages or newsroom; its digital cash work targets institutional margin and settlement, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.