Exhibits

An innovation in customer convenience, this small document passed routinely between customer and teller after each transaction – hence the name. Bank of Montreal’s archives has passbooks that date as far back as 1820 – three years after the establishment of the bank.

Important documents would be affixed with a wax seal in order to ensure authenticity.

In September 1949, the bank received unprecedented national media coverage for the introduction of “Drive-in Banking” at the 10th and Granville branch in Vancouver. It was the first drive-in bank in Canada – and another example of the Bank of Montreal’s drive to be first. Drive-through ATM access has since become a common feature among North American banks.

In 1952, the Bank of Montreal became the first bank to have a children’s wicket where youngsters could make transactions (usually deposits, and usually held in trust). Children also received a passbook, which was aimed at helping to instill a sense of the value of money, savings and thrift in the younger generation.

With the adoption of NCR (National Cash Register) technology, posting and chequing operations took less than half the time needed under former methods and provided customers with a “neat and uniform statement.” This innovation was part of the continuous process of search, adaptation, and improvement of the bank’s key technological systems.

In the late 1960s, the bank introduced a unique new international service that combined the benefits of carrying cash and travellers’ cheques.

The Bancardchek, exclusive in Canada to Bank of Montreal at the time, allowed customers to carry secure guaranteed cheques. A matching signature on the customer’s Bancardchek card and Bancardchek was required for merchants to cash their cheques.

Unlike travellers’ cheques, the customer did not pay in advance, and was only charged if the cheques were used. The Bancardchek was one way the bank responded to the changing needs and lifestyles of customers.

This piece of telecommunications technology was once used in the executive suite of the bank’s Montreal head office. It functioned as a supplementary intercom system to provide a direct connection among a small number of executives. The call button labels indicate that this machine served the top decision-makers of the bank in the late 1970s.

The Instabank machine was a significant innovation in customer convenience, providing 24/7 access to automated banking services, including cash deposits and withdrawals, bill payments, money transfers, and more.

Introduced in the mid-1970s in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, Instabank machines also allowed customers to request that a bank representative contact them by telephone or mail.

In 1976, M&I introduced Wisconsin’s first automated teller machine (ATM).

In February 1979, Bank of Montreal’s Winnipeg main branch opened television tellers in its concourse level. These new tellers connected customers and bank employees through four colour TV screens with telephones. Transactions were carried to and from customers via pneumatic tubes. These tellers were intended to attract young professionals walking to and from work.

In 1984, Bank of Montreal was the first Canadian bank to announce plans to link its network of automated banking machines (ABMs) to another network of ABMs though Cirrus (an American ABM network at the time, which has since become global). This new compatibility allowed BMO to better serve customers throughout North America.

In September 1989, BMO was the first bank to install an automated ordering process, along with Telecom Canada. The process used Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which involved the electronic exchange of business documents, such as purchase orders and invoices, through computer-to-computer communication.

By the 1990s, BMO was recognized as a leader in electronic banking and had taken a proactive role in the development, implementation, and evolution of Canada’s financial EDI within the Canadian Payments System.

In 2015, BMO piloted Smart Branches, a small-format branch with enhanced technological capabilities.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between a traditional branch and a Smart Branch is that you won’t find any bank tellers at the Smart Branch. Bank personnel are “wireless,” which allows them to move freely around the branch, offering increased assistance and interaction with customers.

At a Smart Branch, customers can be instantly connected by video to a bank representative through the “video-teller.” Depending on the customer’s needs, they may be directed to a specialist.

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