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Crispina Blomker
An External Transfer is a transfer of money between your BMO Personal or Business checking, or money market account and an eligible External Account at another U.S. financial institution. External Transfers will also allow you to transfer funds from an External Account to an eligible BMO mortgage, line of credit or other Personal or Business loan account that you have with us. External Transfers are not currently available for BMO savings accounts.
No. We do not charge a fee to make an External Transfer. However, fees may apply if an External Transfer overdraws your Account. You should also check with the financial institution where you have your External Account to see what fees and charges it may charge you.
Zelle is a fast and easy way to send and receive money and split the cost of expenses with almost anyone who has a bank account in the U.S. footnote 44 You can enroll to start sending and receiving money with just an email address or U.S. mobile phone number.
We do not charge a fee to make a standard Bill Payment. We do charge a fee for Expedited Payments. The fee will be disclosed to you at the time you set up the Expedited Payment. The amount of the fee will vary by whether the Expedited Payment is made by ACH payment or by overnight mail. In addition, fees may apply if a Bill Payment overdraws your Account.
Checks deposited after 8 p.m. CT or on a non-Business Day will be immediately available for cash withdrawal or debit card purchases; however, those funds will not be available to complete certain transactions such as covering overdrafts and paying checks until the next Business Day.
Footnote 3 details3Certain conditions and limitations apply. The Digital Banking Guarantee applies to personal accounts only. Please see the BMO Digital Banking Agreement found at bmo.com/en-us/legal/ for details.
6Mobile Deposit is available using the BMO Digital Banking app. This service may not function on older devices. Users must be a BMO Digital Banking customer with a BMO account opened for more than 5 calendar days. Deposits are not immediately available for withdrawal. For details, please see the BMO Digital Banking Agreement found at bmo.com/en-us/legal/.
CreditView and its features, Score Simulator and Credit Education, are provided by TransUnion for informational purposes only. You should consult with your own financial team for more information about current credit score.
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law (USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107 56 signed into law October 26, 2001) requires all financial organizations to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask you to provide a copy of your driver's license or other identifying documents. For each business or entity that opens an account, we will ask for your name, address and other information that will allow us to identify the entity. We may also ask you to provide a copy of your certificate of incorporation (or similar document) or other identifying documents. The information you provide in this form may be used to perform a credit check and verify your identity by using internal sources and third party vendors. If the requested information is not provided within 30 calendar days, the account will be subject to closure.
Please review the privacy and security policies of web sites reached through links from BMO web sites. This information is not intended to be tax or legal advice. This information cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. This information is being used to support the promotion or marketing of the planning strategies discussed herein. BMO Bank N.A. and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice to clients. You should review your particular circumstances with your independent legal and tax advisors.
BMO Bank, N.A. (colloquially BMO; .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-smallfont-size:85%.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-smallfont-size:100%US: /biːmoʊ/) is an American national bank that is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is the U.S. subsidiary of the Toronto-based multinational investment bank and financial services company Bank of Montreal, which owns it through the holding company BMO Financial Corporation (formerly Bankmont Financial Corporation, then Harris Financial Corporation). In September 2023[update], it was the 8th largest bank in the United States by total assets.
The bank was founded in 1882 as N.W. Harris & Co. before changing its name to Harris Trust and Savings Bank in 1907, and then Harris Bank in 1972. After the Bank of Montreal acquired the company in 1984, it eventually became branded as BMO Harris Bank by 2011. Under the Bank of Montreal's ownership, the company increased its presence in the U.S. through a series of acquisitions of other banks, such as Suburban Bancorp in 1994, Marshall & Ilsley in 2011, and Bank of the West in 2023. Coinciding with the Bank of the West merger, BMO announced that it would retire the "BMO Harris Bank" brand in favor of the global "BMO" brand of its Canadian parent company.[2]
In 1882, Norman Wait Harris established N.W. Harris & Co., a Chicago-based municipal bond broker and the forerunner of Harris Bank. Harris Trust and Savings Bank was established in 1907. It merged with Chicago National Bank in 1960 and was restructured as Harris Bank, N.A. in 1972. Bank of Montreal (later known as BMO Financial Group) acquired Harris in 1984.[3]
The bank grew rapidly through a series of acquisitions beginning with the First National Bank of Barrington in 1985, State Bank of St. Charles and First National Bank of Batavia in 1988 and Libertyville Federal Savings Bank and Loan and Frankfort Bancshares in 1990. Harris Bankcorp and Suburban Bancorp combined under the Harris name in 1994 and two years later, the company acquired 54 Chicago area branches from Household Bank.[4] In 1999, the direct brokerage firm Burke, Christensen & Lewis merged with Harris Investors Direct to form Harris InvestorLine. The company's further acquisitions include Freeman Welwood in 2000;[5] Village Bank of Naples, and Century Bank (Arizona) and First National Bank of Joliet in 2001; Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory Company (Seattle) in 2002. Also in 2002, InvestorLine combined with CSFBdirect to form Harrisdirect and Harris acquired online client accounts of Morgan Stanley Individual Investor Group and myCFO. The following year, it purchased Sullivan, Bruyette Speros & Blayney Incorporated, followed by Lakeland Community Bank in Round Lake, and Villa Park Trust and Savings Bank in 2005.[6]
BMO continued its acquisitions in 2007 with First National Bank & Trust, (Kokomo, Indiana)[7] followed by Ozaukee Bank, (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) and Merchant and Manufacturers Bankcorp Inc., (New Berlin, Wisconsin) in 2008,[8] and Amcore Bank N.A. (Rockford, Illinois) on April 23, 2010.[9]
On December 17, 2010, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corporation in an all-stock transaction valued at about US$4.1 billion. Marshall & Ilsley and Harris Bankcorp were both rebranded as BMO Harris. The company restructured as BMO Bankcorp July 5, 2011.
In December 2021, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase Bank of the West with the intent on merging it with BMO Harris Bank, which would at least double its U.S. presence.[13][14] The acquisition of Bank of the West was completed in February 2023, and the Bank of the West brand is planned to be absorbed into the global BMO brand by September 2023.[15] Coinciding with this merger, BMO Harris Bank announced that it will retire the combined "BMO Harris" brand and will start to use the global BMO brand of its Canadian parent company.[2] The company will then begin to primarily do business as "BMO Bank N.A." in September 2023 once the integration with Bank of the West is completed.[16]
BMO is one of the largest banks in the Midwest with over 600 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona, Florida and California.[3] It is the second-largest Chicago-area bank based on market share, behind JPMorgan Chase, and the second largest US subsidiary of a Canadian bank after TD Bank, N.A. (owned by the Toronto-Dominion Bank).[17] BMO is the issuer of the Diners Club cards in the United States.
BMO is headquartered in a complex of three buildings in Chicago's Loop neighborhood. The original 21-story building was constructed in 1910 at 119 West Monroe Street. The entrance to the building is flanked by two bas-relief sculptures of lions, which inspired various iterations of the bank's logo until 2011, along with the bank's mascot character, Hubert the Lion. In 1960, a 23-story structure was added to the east with the address of 111 West Monroe. In 1974, a second 38-story tower was added to the west, with the address of 115 South LaSalle Street. Both additions were designed by the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and are in the modern style. The bank uses the address of the 1960 building.[18] In December 2018, the bank announced it would move its headquarters to 14 floors of a 50-story office tower adjacent to Chicago Union Station. The new BMO Tower opened in 2022.[19]
Additionally, notable BMO buildings are located in Milwaukee (BMO Harris Financial Center), at 770 North Water Street, and Indianapolis (BMO Plaza). In 2017, the bank began construction of a 25-story BMO Tower at North Water and East Wells, adjacent to its current Milwaukee headquarters. The bank expects to occupy 123,000 square feet (11,400 m2) of the building beginning in December 2019. In August 2017, BMO sold the 20-story structure it currently occupies to real estate firm Irgens, which plans to remodel and lease it.[20]
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