BMO Harris APP doesn't accept BMO Canada USD Cheque (BMO to BMO-Harris Transfer)

Seinfeldfan wrote: ↑ Hi all,

I tried to deposit a USD cheque from BMO-Canada to BMO-Harris using their mobile app, and kept getting an error. Technical support said BMO-Harris app doesn't accept Canadian cheques. (even if in USD)

Has anyone managed to deposit a BMO Canada cheque (business account in USD) to BMO Harris via their app?

I understand that there is also an option to use electronic transfer, however it costs a monthly fee of about $20 per month, and $6 per each transfer. Was looking to do it with less fees, such as with a cheque.

Thanks!

Hi

I'm not sure about how BMO does these things, but you'd cut down significantly on those fees by using Transferwise or similar services. Their FX rate is also likely better than BMO's.

You will need a check from BMO Canada that has ACH routing info on it. Typically you just go to a BMO branch and get a USD draft and it should be able to clear in US including mobile deposit.

BMO Canada USD dollar check is just a Canadian check.

khkchan wrote: ↑ You will need a check from BMO Canada that has ACH routing info on it. Typically you just go to a BMO branch and get a USD draft and it should be able to clear in US including mobile deposit.

BMO Canada USD dollar check is just a Canadian check.

Can I get a bunch of these cheques blank or I can only get them at a bank, like with a certified cheque? Might be easier to just do a wire transfer then.

Kneader wrote: ↑ Hi

I'm not sure about how BMO does these things, but you'd cut down significantly on those fees by using Transferwise or similar services. Their FX rate is also likely better than BMO's.

I will try them, thanks!

Seinfeldfan wrote: ↑ Can I get a bunch of these cheques blank or I can only get them at a bank, like with a certified cheque? Might be easier to just do a wire transfer then.

You can only get those at a branch when you order it since the money is already set aside when the cheque/draft is created.

If you have a BMO Canada USD chequing account you can do a web transfer to BMO Harris straight up in online banking, no fees, 24 hours turnaround.

Otherwise yes convert to USD bank draft, which is issued by BMO Harris

crimsona wrote: ↑ If you have a BMO Canada USD chequing account you can do a web transfer to BMO Harris straight up in online banking, no fees, 24 hours turnaround.

Otherwise yes convert to USD bank draft, which is issued by BMO Harris

I think the free web transfer from BMO Canada to BMO Harris, only works with a personal account. I only have a business account at BMO Harris, and it won't let me accept transfers from BMO Canada personal account, unless I set up a paid platform, with monthly fees.

Maybe worth opening a personal BMO Harris account to be able to do the transfer.

I've never tried doing that, and I didn't realize it would be a problem - thanks for mentioning it.

We have BMO Canada USD and BMO Harris accounts for our business, and I recall from when we first set it up that one of the annoyances was that BMO wanted to charge a monthly fee plus transaction fees to allow transfers back and forth. Instead we do it through the online portal of our forex processor, who lets us transfer same-currency (USD) back and forth for no fee. Our forex processor is linked to our accounts, and does direct withdrawal/deposit transfers that complete in one day. They even front us the money on the deposit end to avoid delay. I suspect that's allowed only because we are a long-term forex customer who does a lot of exchange too, but you might want to check that out as an option.

There are some pretty freaky glitches in the fragmented U.S. banking system. We used to pay some of our small-scale contractors by USD cheque drawn on our BMO Canada USD account, but on occasion some would report that their U.S. bank gave them a hassle or charged an extra fee for cashing it. On one occasion we paid a contractor something like US$700, and her Federal Employees Credit Union in Washington DC charged her a US $350 total fee for cashing it, with each of 3 banks in the chain to Canada adding their own fee!

Scote64 wrote: ↑ ...
There are some pretty freaky glitches in the fragmented U.S. banking system. We used to pay some of our small-scale contractors by USD cheque drawn on our BMO Canada USD account, but on occasion some would report that their U.S. bank gave them a hassle or charged an extra fee for cashing it. On one occasion we paid a contractor something like US$700, and her Federal Employees Credit Union in Washington DC charged her a US $350 total fee for cashing it, with each of 3 banks in the chain to Canada adding their own fee!

Not just fragmentation but the fact that a Canadian coded USD cheque cannot be electronically cleared through the ACH system like US coded check. Some large banks will have in place systems for clearing foreign cheques but smaller banks won't; they'll have to go through one or more intermediary banks, with some manual handling, all of which are real costs. The same applies to Canadian financial institutions handling US coded checks, but given the proportion of US checks going through the system in Canada even the smaller credit unions have systems in place to handle them and generally charge nothing or a small fee.

If I was a US contractor I would never accept a payment from a Canadian client that wasn't drawn and payable at a US bank.

Up to about a dozen years or so ago, you could get par-crossed checks from RBC, BMO and others that could clear through the Federal Reserve system, but that capability was eliminated. Now all Canadian coded cheques deposited in the US go back to the Canadian issuing bank for clearing regardless of currency.

robsaw wrote: ↑ Not just fragmentation but the fact that a Canadian coded USD cheque cannot be electronically cleared through the ACH system like US coded check. Some large banks will have in place systems for clearing foreign cheques but smaller banks won't; they'll have to go through one or more intermediary banks, with some manual handling, all of which are real costs. The same applies to Canadian financial institutions handling US coded checks, but given the proportion of US checks going through the system in Canada even the smaller credit unions have systems in place to handle them and generally charge nothing or a small fee.

If I was a US contractor I would never accept a payment from a Canadian client that wasn't drawn and payable at a US bank.

But in most cases an extra fee meant something like $5. Charging $350 was insane.

BMO Canada does have an ACH routing number for transactions against their Canadian-based USD accounts (based in New York), but they don't print it on the cheques by default. I wonder if it would be possible to print custom cheques coded correctly for the U.S. banking system?

In any case, we pay our contractors directly by ACH these days, which is free and instant. Paper cheques should be a thing of the past - I don't recall when we last sent one, but it was years ago.

crimsona wrote: ↑ If you have a BMO Canada USD chequing account you can do a web transfer to BMO Harris straight up in online banking, no fees, 24 hours turnaround.

Otherwise yes convert to USD bank draft, which is issued by BMO Harris

There is a $25 fee you pay and get refunded right away when doing this. Meaning you always have $25 in your account and that sucks! One of the reasons i dont use it anymore.

Bubblegum86 wrote: ↑ There is a $25 fee you pay and get refunded right away when doing this. Meaning you always have $25 in your account and that sucks! One of the reasons i dont use it anymore.

I think that option works for a personal account only, BMO has it part of the online banking option. For business it's not available though.

UrbanPoet wrote: ↑ Why not transfer directly from your bmo canada usd acc to your bmo harris account?
I know you can go from harris to bmo canada. I imagine you can do it the other way around too.
Give it a shot. Look around your online banking with a laptop/desktop browser.

There is such an option for personal account (personal BMO to personal BMO Harris), but for business account that option is unavailable and they offer it for a monthly fee.

Seinfeldfan wrote: ↑ Hi all,

I tried to deposit a USD cheque from BMO-Canada to BMO-Harris using their mobile app, and kept getting an error. Technical support said BMO-Harris app doesn't accept Canadian cheques. (even if in USD)

Has anyone managed to deposit a BMO Canada cheque (business account in USD) to BMO Harris via their app?

I understand that there is also an option to use electronic transfer, however it costs a monthly fee of about $20 per month, and $6 per each transfer. Was looking to do it with less fees, such as with a cheque.

Thanks!

First ,BMO Harris and BMO are two different entities (even though parent company is same)
BMO Harris is a US bank and follow US bank account numbering pattern (Routing numbers and Acc no) ,where as your USD account at BMO Canada is just like a regular CAD account that can be used with in Canada.(follows Canadian banking numbering |bank code transit codes)

BMO Harris app may not be recognizing the format on the cheque and is not accepting it .
The quick option is, buying a USD draft at your local BMO Canada (the bank may charge you $7.75 CAD) and deposit through BMO Harris app
(BMO Canada issues USD Draft ,rather USD Check from BMO Harris ,which has Routing number and account number )


May be ,you can deposit the BMO Canada USD cheque at BMO Harris bank branch.But it will treated as international Cheque and may take weeks to process the cheque .But most times they will credit immediately if it is low value cheque

unodos wrote: ↑ BMO Harris app may not be recognizing the format on the cheque and is not accepting it .
The quick option is, buying a USD draft at your local BMO Canada (the bank may charge you $7.75 CAD) and deposit through BMO Harris app
(BMO Canada issues USD Draft ,rather USD Check from BMO Harris ,which has Routing number and account number )

That sounds like the best option, but curious if you have tried it? I asked at BMO Harris about this option, and they said that drafts are sometimes tricky because they are still drawn on a Canadian bank. If it is truly drawn on a Canadian bank, the app will not allow it, even if it's in US dollars. So wondering if anyone tried doing it?

Seinfeldfan wrote: ↑ That sounds like the best option, but curious if you have tried it? I asked at BMO Harris about this option, and they said that drafts are sometimes tricky because they are still drawn on a Canadian bank. If it is truly drawn on a Canadian bank, the app will not allow it, even if it's in US dollars. So wondering if anyone tried doing it?

I have tried many times.I have couple of bank accounts and in US (Bank of America,Chase and Citizens) and also some credit cards issued by US banks.I some times transfer funds from my Canadian accounts to US account through XOOM money transfer (It takes 3 business days) to pay my credit card bills .
Some times I buy USD draft from BMO and deposit through mobile app into my bank accounts and funds are credited instantly BMO Canada issues BMO- Harris Cashier Check .It is technically a US Check of a US Bank account,based in US and not a Canadian bank

unodos wrote: ↑ I have tried many times.I have couple of bank accounts and in US (Bank of America,Chase and Citizens) and also some credit cards issued by US banks.I some times transfer funds from my Canadian accounts to US account through XOOM money transfer (It takes 3 business days) to pay my credit card bills .
Some times I buy USD draft from BMO and deposit through mobile app into my bank accounts and funds are credited instantly BMO Canada issues BMO- Harris Cashier Check .It is technically a US Check of a US Bank account,based in US and not a Canadian bank

Great, thanks for letting me know. When I ask for a USD draft from BMO, should I call it a "BMO- Harris Cashier Check"? Or a regular BMO USD draft would be as good for BMO-Harris app?

BTW you mention you have credit cards from US banks, are they happen to be for business? Wanted to know which US banks can provide an actual credit card for business, when your business is incorporated in Canada, so it doesn't have a U.S. address. I know that BMO-Harris provides a business debit card, and other than that heard that TD and RBC have solutions for Canadians, not sure if they provide debit cards only or real credit cards for business. Thanks.

Seinfeldfan wrote: ↑ Great, thanks for letting me know. When I ask for a USD draft from BMO, should I call it a "BMO- Harris Cashier Check"? Or a regular BMO USD draft would be as good for BMO-Harris app?

BTW you mention you have credit cards from US banks, are they happen to be for business? Wanted to know which US banks can provide an actual credit card for business, when your business is incorporated in Canada, so it doesn't have a U.S. address. I know that BMO-Harris provides a business debit card, and other than that heard that TD and RBC have solutions for Canadians, not sure if they provide debit cards only or real credit cards for business. Thanks.

If you ask for US Draft payable in USA,they will by default issue BMO Harris Cashier Check or Money Order


I have lived in US for 10 years and travel to US very Often.I have personal credit/debit cards and business credit/debit cards through by US Corp.

I don't think any US bank provide business credit cards for your Canadian Business...but you can get personal credit card from US Bank based on your Canadian credit or through banking history/relation ship