News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 4, 2013) - BMO Financial Group (BMO) today announced it had succeeded in its bid to provide an integrated travel and expense management program, in partnership with international corporate services provider HRG, for the Government of Canada. The agreement will run until April 2022, and will entail rolling out approximately 100,000 BMO-issued Travel MasterCard^® cards to more than 100 Government of Canada departments and agencies within the next 12 months.

Federal government employees will enjoy the unsurpassed acceptance of MasterCard^®, the most accepted corporate card in the world. The corporate travel cards, issued by BMO, will be used for all government employees' travel spend and will be fully integrated with the world-class benefits of HRG's travel, booking, expense and data management solutions.

"Government organizations today want smarter solutions that optimize travel management and improve the travel experience for employees," said Andrew Irvine, Head of Corporate Payments, North America, BMO Financial Group. "BMO's dedicated public sector card team has a long history of successfully helping Canadian municipal and provincial governments manage travel, and meet disclosure requirements, through our robust and detailed travel spend data."

"We know federal government employees will see the benefits of travelling with a BMO issued MasterCard, and they will come to enjoy the advantages of unsurpassed global acceptance, security and flexible features," said Richard McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Global Products and Solutions at MasterCard Canada. "We've worked with BMO Financial Group to provide the Federal Government with a credit card that will help them manage travel spend and also provide employees with the best travel experience."

BMO Financial Group is a leading provider of commercial card and treasury solutions in North America. In addition to the recent travel agreement, BMO has served the Government of Canada as its purchasing card solution provider since 2003.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at January 31, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.