BMO “first” for account opening with smartphones
Smart with smartphones?
BMO Bank of Montreal has introduced a new service that allows customers to open an account using their smartphone, without having to go to a branch or download an app.
The bank says this “first-of-its-kind account opening capability” allows customers to search, select and open a new account with BMO “in minutes”.
Niti Badarinath, head of North American channels, BMO Bank of Montreal, says the number of transactions completed on digital channels continues to increase, and the new service is the “next step in the journey we are taking with our customers as they increase their use of digital”.
Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is a financial services provider based in North America. As of 30 April 2016, it has total assets of $681 billion and over 45,000 employees.
BMO provides retail 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, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.
Signs from Neon
Recently, Brazilian online bank Neon launched – offering accounts only accessed through a smartphone.
The bank, founded by 24-year-old entrepreneur Pedro Conrade, is targeting the millennial crowd and its goal is to reach 100,000 active customers in its first year of operation.
Neon says it will be the first bank in Brazil to use biometric authentication for transactions within smartphone applications.
