Canadian High Interest Savings Bank Accounts

Thanks for the tip, djino. I'm not sure how I missed this but am surprised by the lack of publicity on this. All I found was an obscure press release on the BMO corporate site (perhaps Sobeys would've highlighted it more prominently) and an article on Moneyville plus a couple other articles on minor, sponsored-article type websites (which I consider advertising more than news/blog sites).

The confusing aspect of it is there is no all-encompassing branding for the three different specialized, co-branded banking packages (which is what I would call these) that are dependent on geographic region. I would've preferred to see a branding like "Sobeys Financial, a division of BMO Bank of Montreal" or "BMO/Sobeys Financial" offering the three distinct packages. There should also be more prominent tie-ins with the main BMO site.

Also, I really didn't see this one coming but am pleased with the banking package they've put together and what differentiates them from say, a PC Financial or a branchless bank like ING Direct or Canadian Direct Financial, is BMO Sobeys no-fee chequing account holders can have in-branch access for a fee. Working in the banking industry, I do think the $1.00 transaction fee for an in-branch transaction should be raised to $5.00 to provide a greater incentive to use self-serve banking channels. In raising this fee, I would also eliminate the transaction fees on transactions processed by a BMO call centre agent or paper-based bill payments paid through an ATM as I do consider those self-serve channels. I would also raise the initial cheque order to a book of 50 cheques but do like that they are charging a modest fee for cheque orders (still significantly cheaper than regular cheque orders) as this will discourage waste (i.e., ordering new cheques just because your address changes or you lost your chequebook). However, my recommendations are unlikely to be implemented by BMO.

I must admit, while I was familiar with the BMO Club Sobeys MasterCard, a full-fledged chequing account and a customized debit card (which appears to have one's name embossed on it – can you confirm this, djino? also, do regular BMO debit cards have their names on them yet?) in different colour from regular BMO debit cards was completely off my radar. I had expected ING Direct to launch a MasterCard or Ally to launch a no-fee chequing account before BMO would launch a co-branded no-fee chequing account, especially since the ATM network sharing arrangement with HSBC ended. Mind you, that was HSBC's decision to end the relationship not BMO's.

The downsides of the account are BMO's small ATM network. RBC and CIBC each operate the #1 and #2 largest ATM networks, of which PC Financial has surcharge-free full-access to the #2 ATM network. Sobeys does plan to install 100 BMO ATMs, which should boost the ATM network noticeably but it will still be smaller than The Exchange ATM Network, Acculink, TD and Scotiabank (in that order, I believe, but correct me if I am wrong). Also, while people in B.C. can sign-up for the account, the rewards program is of no use especially for anyone living outside of Vancouver and Vancouver Island as we have no Sobeys or Sobeys-owned stores out here. Plus, IGA in B.C. is owned and franchised by H.Y. Louie Group (parent company of London Drugs) not Empire Company (which owns Sobeys). Considering this though, I'm pleased to read somewhere that BMO says it is considering/exploring other retailer co-branded banking package partnerships in the future, indicating the relationship with Sobeys is non-exclusive.

That being said, I look forward to more feedback on this and hopefully this thread won't get buried by a bunch of people dredging up old threads (or one person masquerading as multiple people replying to old threads – stop it!).

Cheers,
Doug