/R E P E A T -- BMO among Select U.S. Banks to Offer Digital Accounts Managed Via Google Pay/

Mobile-first offering to support BMO's U.S. growth with continued focus on new digital deposit customers

CHICAGO, Aug. 3, 2020 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group today announced it is working with Google to introduce mobile-first bank accounts that will be available to U.S. customers and can be managed through Google Pay. BMO is one of just eight banks to launch the new U.S. offering.

The new platform will pair Google's expertise in creating intuitive user experiences with the security of a reputable bank to provide a new way to manage money with financial insights and budgeting tools.

"This collaboration with Google is a fantastic next step in BMO's growth strategy," said Ernie (Erminia) Johannson, group head of North American Personal and Business Banking, BMO Financial Group. "Google Pay allows us to reach new customers and extend the BMO brand more broadly through a platform that helps customers make real financial progress. We continually seek partnerships of this nature that allow us to accelerate growth through customer-centric innovation."

BMO has quickly scaled digital deposit acquisition in the U.S., opening accounts online in all 50 states for the first time and growing overall deposits by an industry-leading 9 percent in 2019.

"Google is excited to collaborate with BMO to enable a new digital experience designed to meet the evolving financial needs of a new generation of customers," said Felix Lin, vice president of Payments Ecosystems at Google. "BMO was chosen because it is a well-respected bank with a proven ability to deliver innovative, customer-centric digital financial services."

The digital checking account will be built on top of BMO's existing banking infrastructure and the accounts will be FDIC-insured. Google will provide the front-end, intuitive user experiences and financial insights.

"Being able to support our customers' financial lives in more places where they're spending their digital time is important to helping them be successful," said Brett Pitts, chief digital officer for BMO Financial Group. "Collaborating to launch this new BMO digital product accelerates our ability to deliver financial advice to our customers and is an innovative step in the evolution of how we serve them."

Launch timing for these accounts and additional details will be announced at a later date.

About BMO Financial Group 
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $987 billion as of April 30, 2020, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

About BMO Harris Bank
BMO Harris Bank provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through more than 500 branches and fee-free access to over 40,000 ATMs across the United States. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the United States. For more information about BMO Harris Bank, visit the company fact sheet. Accounts are subject to approval. BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a highly diversified financial services provider with total assets of CDN$987 billion as of April 30, 2020.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

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