The Bank of Montreal has been fined $4 million by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) for improperly charging customers due to inadequate disclosure of fee information. The FCAC, responsible for safeguarding consumers of financial services, found that the bank had billed clients monthly plan fees that were supposed to be waived or reduced.
According to the FCAC, over 100,000 customers were impacted between 2010 and 2024, with the bank issuing refunds exceeding $3 million. To address unrecoverable amounts, the bank contributed an additional $600,000 to donations.
A representative from BMO emphasized the institution’s commitment to upholding the highest ethical standards, noting that they promptly reimbursed affected customers and promptly informed the FCAC of the issue.
The penalties were imposed for discrepancies in discounted bank account offerings for various customer segments, including newcomers, medical and dental students, Indigenous banking clients, and participants in a home financing promotion. The FCAC criticized the bank for providing inaccurate information to these groups.
The $4 million fine reflects the FCAC’s assessment of BMO’s failure to prevent and identify the error, despite receiving over 500 customer complaints regarding the erroneous monthly plan fees.