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BMO Helps U.S. Bound Travelers Take Advantage of the Strong Loonie

With the loonie hovering around record highs, Canadians are looking for ways to get the biggest bang for their buck when traveling to the U.S.

“The appeal of U.S.-dollar-denominated bank accounts, credit cards, term investments and travel-related medical insurance is rising,” according to Sid Chopra, Director, Everyday Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We've seen increasing interest in products and services designed to help our customers manage their everyday banking and financial needs in U.S. currency from both sides of the border.”

Canadian cross-border shopping has crept up during the past few years as the loonie has soared and according to BMO Economists the trend is about to spike.

BMO offers its U.S bound customers the following tips and advice:

  • Apply for a BMO U.S. Mosaik MasterCard – All transactions are billed and paid in U.S. dollars, helping cardholders to bypass the cost and uncertainty associated with exchange rates;
  • Access your accounts free of surcharge or network fees at any one of more than 500 Harris Branded ABMs;
  • Use your debit card to access any one of more than 1.9 million Maestro Point of Sale terminals in the U.S.;
  • Open a U.S. Dollar Chequing Account and use the account to pay your U.S. Mosaik MasterCard;
  • Consider a U.S. Dollar Term Investment, with rates that range from 3.70% to 4.10% for deposits from $1,000 to $500,000 respectively;
  • Now might be the time to buy U.S. Dollar Mutual Funds, including a monthly income fund that distributes $0.06 (U.S. $) per unit/per month;
  • If you're a small business customer BMO offers Lending facilities that allow you to access funds in both U.S. and Canadian currencies;
  • If you're one of thousands of Canadians who head to the US over the winter consider the services offered by BMO Harris Private Bank including client assistance with cross border tax planning, coordination of tax return preparation, coordination of travel medical insurance and bill payment services;
  • Use both your US Mosaik MasterCard and debit card and earn valuable AIR MILES reward miles. Collect AIR MILES from BMO on an ongoing basis and earn enough to fund your US vacation next year.

For more information on what BMO has to offer please visit your nearest BMO branch or www.bmo.com.

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