Bank launches insight solution designed to help customers' day-to-day financial wellness
BMO Bank of Montreal has launched a new tool that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to help them identify potential financial pitfalls and upcoming expenses.
The BMO CashTrack Insight is designed to improve customers’ financial wellness by warning them of potential cash shortfalls and helping them manage everyday monetary decisions. The solution is fully integrated into the bank’s wider personal financial management solution, BMO Insights.
CashTrack leverages AI and machine-learning models to provide customers with real-time financial insights that intelligently predict an upcoming shortfall, such as a customer’s account balance dropping below zero. The solution can predict up to seven days in advance across Canadian chequing and savings accounts – a differentiator in the Canadian market, according to BMO.
The tool also recommends actionable solutions to help customers resolve potential issues before they happen and people will receive insights from CashTrack directly via BMO’s mobile banking app.
Brett Pitts, Chief Digital Officer, BMO Financial Group, said: “We took the time to understand where customers were having challenges and found that close to a third face cash flow challenges each year. As we continue to navigate COVID, we know too that some Canadians are facing additional financial headwinds brought about by this pandemic.
“We wanted to come up with a way to help that was unique in the market. With CashTrack, we’re providing a more accurate, holistic view of a customer’s account – allowing them to take control of their finances. This is another step for us as we look for real ways to help our customers improve their finances.”
CashTrack will be introduced fully to all mobile banking customers in the coming months.
Meanwhile, to continue to celebrate and support women entrepreneurs, BMO Financial Group has created a women-owned business directory to help Canadians think about how they spend their money and encourage them to buy women-owned products and services.
The new directory will feature some of the top 72 semi-finalists from the bank’s recently-launched $100,000 grant program in partnership with Deloitte.
"Supporting business owners and empowering women both inside and outside the bank is deeply connected to BMO’s Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good – in business and in life,” said Ernie Johannson, Group Head, North American Personal and Business Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We recognize the many challenges women-owned businesses face and we are looking for solutions to help. This active directory will spotlight remarkable women across the country and will help Canadians discover local small businesses together, as we work towards a more inclusive economic recovery from the pandemic.”
In addition to the business directory, BMO has developed programs and invested in solutions to support women entrepreneurs, including:
- Investing $3 billion in capital over three years to women-owned businesses and programs across Canada to ensure they succeed;
- Increasing its authorized lending to women business owners by more than $1.4 billion
- Introducing women client strategy teams across the country, that tie together Business Banking, Private Wealth, and Financial Planning
- Funding more than $35,000,000 to women-owned businesses via BMO Business Xpress since November 2019
- A new e-learning course that informs client-facing employees about the nuances in working with women and shares strategies to help increase these clients' financial success
- Online resource centre for women at bmoforwomen.com that provides critical advice for building a successful business through workshops, webinars, and podcasts
