BMO Review 2025: Checking, Savings and CDs
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Overall institution rating
4.1
BMO (formerly BMO Harris) is a U.S. subsidiary of Canada’s Bank of Montreal with headquarters in Chicago. The bank has solid checking options coupled with a large ATM network and well-received mobile apps, but it still charges overdraft fees — even when other banks have eliminated them. BMO’s regular savings account pays a dismally low interest rate, and most of its yields on certificates of deposit are below average.
Best for: Customers who want a Midwest-based bank that offers basic checking with no monthly fees and access to plenty of free ATMs.
» Want high-yield savings? See our review of BMO Alto, BMO's online-only division
No monthly fees on checking account.
Large branch network.
Large, free, nationwide ATM network.
Highly-rated mobile apps.
Low rates on basic savings account and most CDs.
Full review
Full review
BMO
Money market
BMO Growth Money Market
3.1
/53.1
/5APY
0.55%
With $5,000 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
0.55%
With $5,000 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Non-competitive rate and monthly fee. BMO's money market account has a rate of 0.55% APY on balances between $5,000 and $24,999. The rate increases with higher balances, but remains far lower than many high-yield savings accounts. The monthly fee is $10 but is waived if your daily balance is at least $5,000. (This account did not factor into the bank’s overall star rating; the savings account, which has no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement, was considered instead.)
» Want a higher APY? See the best money market accounts
Savings
BMO Savings Builder Account
3.2
/53.2
/5APY
0.01%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
0.01%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Minimal rate but no monthly fee. BMO's Savings Builder account has a low rate: 0.01% APY. To compare, the national average savings rate is 0.40% APY. There’s no monthly fee, and you can open an account with $25. There are also budgeting tools for savers. We considered this account in the bank’s overall score because it’s the account that’s most widely available.
» Shop and compare: See this month’s best savings rates
Slight savings boost in the first year. Every month of the first year that you deposit $200 or more into the account earns you $5 as a reward for saving money. Those 12 separate opportunities can total $60 extra in your account by the year’s end. But this boost doesn’t make up for the lowest possible savings account rate you can have.
Consider BMO’s online division for a better rate. BMO Financial Group (which BMO is part of) also offers BMO Alto, which is online-only and features a savings account that pays a far high rate in all states – 3.25% APY. But with the higher rate comes a trade-off: BMO ATMs and branches aren’t available to BMO Alto customers. (Read our review of BMO Alto.)
Nerdy Tip
All institutions in the BMO Financial Group are considered to be part of one institution. That means deposits you make at any BMO institution count toward your Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance limit of $250,000 at BMO Financial Group.
Customer experience
Robust help channels and highly rated mobile apps. BMO has multiple support channels, including live phone support with extended hours on weekdays and weekends, and around 1,000 branches in the U.S., which includes branches the bank received when it acquired Bank of the West in 2023. For the more tech-savvy, there are online savings tools as well as highly rated mobile apps.
» More for Canadian readers: Check out NerdWallet's review of the Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Overdraft fees
Overdraft buffer, but overdraft fee. The bank doesn’t charge an overdraft fee if your account is overdrawn by $50 or less. But if you overdraw your account by more than $50, BMO charges a $15 overdraft fee per transaction, up to three times a day.
To avoid overdrafts, free overdraft protection transfers are available from a linked checking, savings or money market account or an overdraft line of credit, which has an annual percentage rate (APR) of 18%.
» Tend to overdraw your account? Check out our list of the best banks for overdrafts
How does BMO Bank N.A. compare?
Up to 3.80%
$300
3.85%
$300
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). The ratings are incremented in tenths of a star.