A Digital Banking First: BMO Launches Innovative Pre-Authorized Payments Manager Previewing Future Payments to Help Canadians Stay on Top of their Finances

• One third of Canadians have paid for subscriptions they do not use
• Majority of Canadians with pre-authorized subscriptions say they would benefit from a tracking tool

TORONTO, July 20, 2022 /CNW/ - To help Canadians better manage their finances, BMO today announced the launch of its new Pre-Authorized Payments Manager on the BMO Mobile Banking app. The digital banking feature provides an enhanced view of pre-authorized payments, including subscriptions attached to a BMO credit card, to help customers better track how their money is being spent.

BMO Pre-authorized Payment Manager (CNW Group/BMO Financial Group)

A recent BMO survey found that two thirds (65 per cent) of Canadians with pre-authorized subscriptions on their credit card said they would benefit from a tracking tool to help manage their money, and one third (33 per cent) have paid for a subscription they do not use.

"As our recent survey has made clear, Canadians are not strangers to subscriptions, and they want help managing their pre-authorized payments. The Pre-Authorized Payments Manager meets a clear customer need and builds on our commitment to offering leading digital experiences that help our customers make real financial progress," said Mat Mehrotra, BMO's Chief Digital Officer.

BMO is now the only bank that displays both past and future payments per credit card, helping customers keep track of their monthly credit card subscriptions by providing:

• A view of subscriptions in one place
• Details of past payments and estimated future payments from a list of authorized merchants

The launch of this feature will help address some of the insights revealed in BMO's survey including:

• One quarter of Canadians with subscriptions on their credit card have had issues managing them, including:
• difficulty cancelling subscriptions they don't want (28 per cent)
• forgetting to cancel subscriptions (23 per cent)
• keeping track of monthly charges to their credit cards (22 per cent)
• 21 per cent of subscribers have been charged for subscriptions they have forgotten about while 20 per cent have paid for subscriptions they no longer want.
•  Among subscription holders, 45 per cent recently cancelled a monthly subscription, most often because the free trial had ended (18 per cent).
• 15 per cent have cancelled subscriptions to save money in inflationary times.

BMO's Pre-authorized Payment Manager is another example of BMO's Digital First strategy, focused on building a digitally-enabled, future-ready bank that drives progress for our customers, unlocks the power of our people and delivers loyalty, growth and efficiency. This feature complements a host of digital capabilities focused on helping our customers make real financial progress, including BMO Insights, BMO CashTrack, and Selfie ID.

To learn more about BMO mobile banking and to download the BMO mobile app, visit: https://www.bmo.com/main/personal/ways-to-bank/get-started/mobile/ 

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 $1.04 trillion as of April 30, 2022, 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.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

For News Media Enquiries: Kate Simandl, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]