BMO PaySmart™ Credit Card Installment Plan Terms and Conditions

What is a PaySmart installment plan?

Installment plans give primary cardholders of personal credit cards and primary owners or co-owners of business credit cards the ability to repay eligible purchase amounts in smaller monthly payments over a defined repayment schedule. Installment plans are subject to these terms and conditions:

• Installment plans are either fee or interest-based (in Quebec, installment plans are interest based only).
• Applicable fees or interest and the repayment period will be presented to you when you create your installment plan.
• Purchases or balances that you turn into installment plans count towards your available credit limit.
• Installment plans are not a special rate offer. In certain cases, we may provide you with special installment plan offers that have different fees or interest rates.

If applicable, your installment plan’s monthly fee is comparable to the interest you might have paid if you carried this balance on your credit card for the same length of time as your installment plan.

If you set up an installment plan, you’ll be bound to these terms.

You’re eligible for an installment plan if:

• You are the primary cardholder of a personal credit card account in good standing, as defined in your Cardholder Agreement. Note: transactions made by secondary cardholders are still eligible for installment plans.
  • For business credit cardholders: you are the primary owner or co-owner with a business credit card account in good standing, as defined in your BMO Business Mastercard Account Agreement. Note: transactions made by employees are still eligible for installment plans.
• Your installment plan amount is at least $100 in Canadian dollars (including taxes). We may designate a different amount from time to time, but we’ll advise you if we do so.
• Your current purchase balance (less refunds, payments and amounts converted to installment plans) since your last statement must be greater or equal to the amount you are trying to convert to an installment plan.
• You have recent eligible transactions on your account, meaning that they have been posted to your account but have not yet appeared on your latest credit card statement. You may also be provided with the option to convert eligible purchases into an installment plan at the point of purchase, either in-store or online with participating merchants.
• You’re registered for BMO Online Banking and have an email address saved with us.
  • For business credit cardholders: You’re registered for BMO Online Banking and have saved an email address with us that is associated with the primary owner.

You’re not eligible for an installment plan if:

• Your personal credit card is a BMO Prepaid Mastercard or Diners Club Professional card.
  • For business credit cardholders: Credit Line for Business is not eligible. 
• You're participating in a BMO promotion that impacts the payments or rates on your account (such as financial relief programs)
• You’re trying to convert a transaction that was previously on an installment plan, a cash-like transaction, a fee or interest charge, or a purchase made with an ineligible merchant category.
• Your personal credit card or business credit card is being charged Default Rates which means you missed making your payment by the payment due date 2 times in a 12-month period.

How your installment plan works

Authorization

For installment plans initiated at the time of purchase, the merchant must process the transaction within 30 days of authorization for the installment plan to be created. If this doesn't happen, the transaction will be treated as a regular purchase on your account and will not be established as an installment plan. In the event we cannot set-up the installment plan, you may still be able to create the installment plan through BMO Online or BMO Mobile App. The rates and terms that we offer may differ from those of the original installment plan you opted into.

Multiple Installments Plans for a Single Purchase

Please note, if your purchase involves multiple items charged separately, each charge could result in a separate installment plan. Each installment plan set-up for this purchase, including repayment terms and interest rates, will remain the same as per your initial agreement.

Please be aware that multiple installment plans associated with your purchase may occur for several reasons, primarily from the merchant's end, over which BMO has no control. These can include but not limited to split shipments, and backordered items.

Repayment

Installment plans have a fixed repayment schedule of monthly payments over a set period of time. Each installment plan includes a monthly fee or interest that’s disclosed at the time you create your installment plan and is applied to your monthly credit card statement. Your installment plan’s monthly payment will be added to the minimum payment due on your credit card each month for the length of your installment plan. If you pay the minimum payment or balance by the due date as shown on your credit card statement, you'll also be making your monthly installment plan payment.

Fee

If you have a fee-based installment plan, your monthly payment is calculated by taking the monthly principal amount (the original purchase amount divided by the number of payment months) and adding the monthly fee.

Interest

If you have an interest-based installment plan, your monthly payment (except for the first payment) is comprised of your installment plan principal and interest. There’s no interest on your first monthly payment.

This is how the monthly interest amount is calculated:

1. First, we determine your installment plan principal average daily balance by adding the interest-bearing amount you owe each day and dividing that total by the number of days in the statement period.
2. Your daily interest rate is determined by dividing the annual interest rate by the number of days in a year.
3. Your interest charge is calculated by multiplying the average daily balance by the daily interest rate by the number of days in a statement period.

The interest charged can vary based on when you make your payment. Your final monthly payment amount may also vary slightly.

We will not charge interest on an eligible transaction that has been converted to an installment plan during that statement period if you pay your total balance or cancel installment plan by the statement’s due date as noted in the following: 

For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.

For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.

Maximum number

You can have up to a combined total of 99 active installment plans at one time, encompassing both installment plans set up at the time of purchase and those created through the BMO Online Banking or the BMO Mobile App. We can limit the number of active installment plans you have for your account at one time.

How payments to your installment plan work

Your installment plan’s monthly payments will be added to the minimum payment on your credit card each month.

For more information, please reference:

• Personal credit cards: BMO Credit Card Cardholder Agreement
• Business credit cards: BMO Business Mastercard Account Agreement

Returns and chargebacks

If you created installment plan via BMO Online Banking or the BMO app, the returns and chargebacks, credits will be applied in accordance with our BMO Credit Card Cardholder Agreement for personal credit card cardholders and in accordance with our BMO Business Mastercard Account Agreement for business credit cardholders. If you return a purchase that is on an installment plan, your installment plan may not be cancelled. Credits may be applied to the installment plan if there are no other charges on your account.

If you set up your installment plan at the time of making your purchase, the returns and chargebacks, credits will be applied to the associated installment plan balance outstanding first. This may reduce your monthly payment in the current and/or a future month, reduce the number of payments remaining or pay off your installment plan balance entirely. Any excess credits will be applied in accordance with our BMO Credit Card Cardholder Agreement for personal credit card cardholders and in accordance with our BMO Business Mastercard Account Agreement for business credit cardholders.

Cancelling your installment plan

You can choose to cancel your installment plan at any time using BMO Online Banking or the BMO Mobile app. Once an installment plan has been cancelled, the original transaction is no longer eligible for installments.

• If you choose to cancel your installment plan any remaining balance will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as noted in the following: 
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• If your credit card account is closed, your installment plan(s) will be cancelled, and any remaining balance will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as noted in the following:  
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• If your interest-bearing installment plan is cancelled after the first payment due date, you will be charged installment plan monthly interest for every day the installment plan was active during the statement period.
• If you cancel your installment plan before your first payment due date, you will not be charged installment plan monthly interest.
• You will not be charged any cancellation fees, or any unbilled installment plan monthly fees (if applicable).

How we can cancel your installment plan

• We may cancel your installment plan(s) at any time if your account is no longer in good standing as defined in your Cardholder Agreement. If we cancel your installment plan, any remaining balances will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as noted in the following:
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• If you do not make your minimum payment by the payment due date and have not paid it by the date that we prepare your next statement, we will cancel your installment plan(s). Your remaining balances will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as of the cancellation date as noted in the following: 
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• Product transfers into ineligible products will also automatically cancel your installment plan(s) and any remaining balances will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as noted in the following:
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• If you have any fee-based installment plans and move to Quebec, we will cancel your installment plans and your remaining balance will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as of the cancellation date as noted in the following:
  • For personal credit cards: Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.
  • For business credit cards: refer to bmo.com/yourbiz or the Important Information on rates and fees document that was sent as part of your Welcome Kit, or any notices that was sent to you regarding fees and interest rates.
• You will be able to set up interest-based installment plans in Quebec.
• Note: For business credit cards, installment plan creation and cancellation are based on the primary owner's address. If the co-owner’s address is located in a non-Quebec province while the primary owner’s address is located in Quebec, the fee-based plan that is created on the co-owner transaction will be cancelled.

Receiving digital notifications

By setting up an installment plan, you are providing express consent that we may provide you with electronic notices regarding your installment plan.

If we provide notice to you by email, we’ll send it to the email address you have saved with us. For business credit cardholders, we'll send it to the email address you have saved with us that’s associated with the primary owner. If we provide notice by BMO Online Banking, it will be available through the BMO Online Banking Message Centre (Message Centre). This consent only applies to this installment plan and does not change how you have requested to receive other documents from us such as your monthly account statement.

We may notify you by mail if we’re unable to send you notice through email, or if we otherwise consider it appropriate. If we’re required to send a notice by mail, we’ll use the most current mailing address you have saved with us. For business credit cardholders, we’ll use the most current mailing address you have saved with us that’s associated with the primary owner.

Promotional Rate Offers (If Applicable)

• The promotional rate is only applicable to purchases that satisfy the eligibility terms for creating an installment plan and satisfy the offer conditions communicated to you.
• The promotional rate is only applicable during the offer period communicated to you and is only applicable on the credit card communicated to you.
• If you cancel an installment plan created using the promotional rate, you will not be able to re-apply the promotional rate on the next eligible purchase.
• You cannot apply the promotional rate on a purchase already converted into an installment plan.
• The promotional rate is only applicable to purchases that are posted and not appearing on your statement.
• The promotional rate may only apply if the account is in good standing.
• The promotional rate will not apply if you product transfer to another credit card product.
• If you have any discounted fee-based plans and move to Quebec, we will cancel your installment plans and your remaining balance will be subject to your credit card’s standard interest rate as of the cancellation date as noted in the Important Information about BMO Credit Cards available at bmo.com/rates-fees.

The information in this document is updated as of June 16, 2025 and is subject to change.