News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 4, 2014) - BMO Financial Group (BMO) announced today that the Government of Canada has renewed its purchasing card contract with BMO and MasterCard - its official purchasing card suppliers for the past 11 years. The agreement will extend the relationship for four years. To date, BMO has issued approximately 32,500 purchasing cards across 125 Government of Canada departments and agencies, accounting for 90 per cent of Canadian government purchasing cards.

BMO's purchasing card solution offers the Government of Canada comprehensive payment options that streamline procurement processes by cutting costs, eliminating paperwork, maximizing working capital, and strengthening supplier relationships. As a result, the federal government can improve spend policy management and compliance.

"Public sector procurement managers must have full visibility into government-wide spending, and purchasing cards give them exactly that," said Andrew Irvine, Head, Corporate Payments, North America, BMO Financial Group. "Our innovative solutions ensure that new and improved processes can integrate easily into current work streams, and provide unprecedented controls and analysis capabilities for the Government of Canada."

Federal government employees will continue to enjoy the unsurpassed benefits of MasterCard acceptance, the most preferred purchasing card in the world. The purchasing cards are used for government employees' purchasing, and include the best-in-class benefits of responsive customer service, innovative security features and, robust back-end reporting and expense and data analysis.

"The BMO-issued MasterCard Purchasing Cards will continue to allow the federal government to gain stronger purchasing power through our unmatched global acceptance and spend controls," said Sasha Krstic, Senior Vice President & Group Head, Global Products & Solutions at MasterCard Canada. "Our longstanding partnership with BMO ensures the federal government can effectively manage its procurement strategy and processes, and also provide a seamless experience for employees."

BMO Financial Group is a leading provider of commercial card and treasury solutions in North America. In addition to the recent purchasing card contract renewal, BMO has served the Government of Canada as its travel and entertainment (T&E) card provider since 2013.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services organization based in North America. The bank offers a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers. BMO Financial Group had total assets exceeding $586 billion and approximately 47,000 employees at July 31, 2014.

About MasterCard

MasterCard, 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 @MasterCardCAnws, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.