BMO quietly ends BMO Sobeys Everyday Banking chequing & savings | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

BMO Bank of Montreal as quietly ended its BMO Sobeys no fee everyday banking chequing & savings accounts that it offered under the "BMO Club Sobeys" and "BMO Sobeys AIR MILES" brand names, located at:

http://www.bmosobeys.com/en/banking

Uptake must've been really slow in the nearly three years since its launch in 2012, with likely less than 100,000 day-to-day banking clients given that one of the leaders in self-directed banking, Tangerine, only has roughly 250,000 of its nearly 2 million clients with its no fee chequing account.

The move eliminates a self-directed banking option for Quebecers, leaving Tangerine as the sole offering to Quebec residents (a huge marketing "gift" to Tangerine and Scotiabank).

I think the move is short-sighted and they should've re-tooled it to eliminate in-branch access at BMO branches, given self-directed banking's growth potential.

I will be updating more later and also updating the "free chequing" comparison chart.

Cheers,
Doug