Flexible and personalized banking for you
Earn a $400 cash bonus1
Earn a $400 cash bonus1 when you open a BMO Smart Advantage Checking or BMO Smart Money Checking account.

$400 cash bonus1
Starting your financial journey?
Enjoy no monthly maintenance fee if you’re under 25 and other exclusive banking perks with a BMO Smart Money Checking account.
Earn up to $60 in savings rewards with Savings Builder
Open a new Savings Builder account and earn a $5 reward every month you grow your balance by $200 or more for the first year.4
Enjoy no monthly maintenance fee.
Start saving with a low minimum opening deposit of just $25.
Feel secure knowing your money is FDIC insured.5
Automate your savings with recurring transfers6 from your checking account.
Interested in exploring other checking accounts?
We’ve got one that meets your unique needs.
Do you own a small business?
Explore our business checking accounts to find one that meets your needs.
Prefer to apply in person or on the phone?
Just give us a few details to get your promo code and use it when you apply.
By providing your contact information, you agree to be contacted by a BMO banker about opening your BMO account and related banking opportunities.
Visit your local branch or call 1-800-546-6101 to make an appointment.
1To take advantage of the new personal checking account cash bonus offer, you must open your account between September 9, 2025 and January 28, 2026, and use the promo code. You may open your account at a BMO branch, online, or by calling 1-800-546-6101.
- To apply online for a checking account, click through to the personal checking account cash bonus offer page, select “OPEN IN MINUTES” for the checking account of your choice and we’ll automatically apply the promo code for you.
- To apply at a branch or by phone for a checking account, click through to the personal checking account cash bonus offer page, enter your information, and select “SEND MY PROMO CODE” to receive the promo code you must use when opening your account. Accounts opened online on January 28, 2026 must have their applications submitted and approved prior to 9:00 p.m. CT. If you open your account by calling 1-800-546-6101, we must receive your opening deposit and all signed account opening documents by January 28, 2026.
To receive the personal checking new account cash bonus of $400:
- Open a new BMO Smart Money Checking or BMO Smart Advantage Checking account and
- Have a cumulative total of $4,000 in qualifying direct deposits post to your account within 90 days of account opening.
Business Days are Monday through Friday excluding any holiday on which the Bank and/or the Federal Reserve are closed for processing. Transactions received or occurring on a day other than a Business Day will be posted the next Business Day.
Checking cash bonus offer is limited to one per customer and account (including trustees and signers on joint accounts). Offer is not available for existing BMO personal checking customers (including trustees and signers on joint accounts) or those who have closed a BMO personal checking account within the past 12 months. Cash bonus may be reported to the IRS for tax purposes, and you are responsible for any applicable taxes. Offer can be changed or canceled without notice at any time and cannot be combined with any other offer. If your balance is zero, we may close your account. Your account must be open, in good standing and must have a balance greater than zero when the cash bonus is paid.
Qualifying direct deposits are deposits of regular income from an employer or similar third party -- such as your salary, paycheck, pension payment, Social Security payment, or other government benefits payment electronically deposited into the account -- using your account number and BMO’s routing number that you provide to them. We reserve the right to request documentation that the direct deposits qualify. Non-qualifying examples include: teller deposits, wire transfers, ATM transfers or deposits, BMO Digital Banking transfers or deposits, deposits processed as a debit card credit or real-time credit, transfers from any bank or brokerage account, and Account to Account or Peer to Peer (e.g. Zelle®, Venmo) transfers.
You are only eligible for one checking account cash bonus; you cannot open multiple checking accounts and receive multiple cash bonuses. The promo code is applied to the first checking account that is opened between September 9, 2025 and January 28, 2026. Day 1 is the day you open your account and begins the tracking period. If you open your account on a day other than a Business Day, Day 1 is the next Business Day. Your account must be Smart Money Checking or Smart Advantage Checking when the cash bonus is paid into the checking account approximately 100 days after account opening.
2Accounts with zero balance may be closed
3For important information regarding overdraft services, please visit www.bmo.com/overdraft.
4For every month your Savings Builder account balance grows by at least $200, we will credit the account with a $5 savings reward within 5 calendar days after the end of the month. To calculate if your balance has grown by $200, we will compare the Ledger Balance on the last Business Day of the previous month to the Ledger Balance on the last Business Day of the current month. Interest and savings reward payments will not count towards your balance growth. Tip: Deposits made on weekends and holidays will not be processed until the next Business Day. To ensure your deposit is counted for the current month, avoid scheduling your recurring transfer or deposits towards the end of the month.
Your account is eligible for 12 savings rewards beginning with the month your account is opened. The first savings reward is based on your savings growth from the Business Day the account is opened through the last Business Day of that month. If your initial deposit is not received until the month after account opening, the account will only be eligible for 11 savings rewards.
Your account must be open when the savings rewards are paid. Savings rewards may be reported to the IRS for tax purposes and you are responsible for any applicable taxes.
Exclusions:
- Savings rewards are available for new accounts only. An account switched into Savings Builder from a different product is not eligible for savings rewards.
- Savings rewards are limited to one Savings Builder account per customer as the Primary Account Owner. Only your first account opened is eligible for savings rewards.
- You are not eligible to receive savings rewards if you have previously opened a Statement Savings account between February 3, 2020 and October 18, 2021, and participated in the Statement Savings account – Savings Rewards offer.
Minimum opening deposit of $25 is required for Savings Builder accounts. Savings Builder is a variable rate account. Interest rates and Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) may change daily after the account is open. Interest rates and APYs offered within two or more consecutive tiers may be the same. In this case, multiple tiers will be shown as a single tier. The following collected balance tiers and corresponding APYs are effective as of September 9, 2025, and are subject to change at our discretion at any time: 0.01% for all balances. Interest is calculated on the entire collected balance daily at the rate in effect for that balance tier. You must maintain the required minimum collected balance for each tier to earn the APYs disclosed. A periodic rate is applied on the collected balance in the account daily. Interest is compounded daily on the collected balance and credited to the account monthly on the statement period date. Checks you deposit into your account begin to earn interest on the Business Day we receive credit for them. Fees and withdrawals may reduce earnings. For account and fee information or current interest rates, visit bmo.com.
5Please visit the FDIC website for current deposit insurance limits.
6If you make an Internal Transfer on a weekend or holiday, we'll credit the payment the same day, but we'll post the payment on the next Business Day.
7Mobile 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, explore the BMO Digital Banking Agreement found at bmo.com/en-us/legal.
8Message and data rates may apply. Contact your wireless carrier for details.
9Visit the BMO Security Center for details.
Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.