What is the correct pronunciation of BMO?
May 22, 2013, 8:17 am
#1
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What is the correct pronunciation of BMO?
I have been saying bee-em-oh, but on a Public TV sponsorship voiceover I heard it spoken as a single word: beemo.
May 22, 2013, 2:04 pm
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I pronounce it bank-of-mon-tree-all-slash-har-ris-bank. 
(I'm never in circumstances where someone would understand what BMO means when I'm speaking. Only here on FlyerTalk does the abbreviation seem to be understood far outside Canada and outside the banking world.)
(I'm never in circumstances where someone would understand what BMO means when I'm speaking. Only here on FlyerTalk does the abbreviation seem to be understood far outside Canada and outside the banking world.)
May 22, 2013, 10:29 pm
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Bank of Montreal would like you to say the latter (beemo) because they have spent millions advertising themselves like that. However no one outside of a Bank of Montreal employee says that. Some say B M O. Most Canadians say "Bank of Montreal" as they have for almost 200 years.
It is silly marketing. Toronto-Dominion Bank became TD; Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became CIBC; and so Bank of Montreal thought they would become BMO. Oh and the Royal Bank calls itself RBC.
It is silly marketing. Toronto-Dominion Bank became TD; Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became CIBC; and so Bank of Montreal thought they would become BMO. Oh and the Royal Bank calls itself RBC.
May 23, 2013, 8:35 am
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Silly marketing? I have always figured it's a conscious effort to gain more American customers by making it less obvious they are not an American company. Banks are not alone in this practice, BP and BOC are other examples that come to mind.
May 23, 2013, 2:03 pm
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But of all Canadian banks, TD is the only one with any significant presence or operations in the US. This (ongoing) rebranding has nothing to do with Americans.
May 23, 2013, 5:30 pm
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Jun 16, 2013, 2:22 am
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Bank of Montreal would like you to say the latter (beemo) because they have spent millions advertising themselves like that. However no one outside of a Bank of Montreal employee says that. Some say B M O. Most Canadians say "Bank of Montreal" as they have for almost 200 years.
It is silly marketing. Toronto-Dominion Bank became TD; Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became CIBC; and so Bank of Montreal thought they would become BMO. Oh and the Royal Bank calls itself RBC.
It is silly marketing. Toronto-Dominion Bank became TD; Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became CIBC; and so Bank of Montreal thought they would become BMO. Oh and the Royal Bank calls itself RBC.
Jun 27, 2013, 12:15 pm
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Well, there was a guest from BMO (their US division) on CNN's Your Money this weekend, and they introduced him verbally as someone from Bee Em Oh (ie, spelling out the letters), and he didn't correct them.
Jul 3, 2013, 1:05 pm
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Jul 7, 2013, 7:48 pm
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By the way, he mentioned that BMO is not currently taking new applications for the Diners Club card, but he mentioned that "that should change soon". (I don't know if he has official information from BMO about that or not.)
Oct 17, 2013, 2:28 pm
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Oct 22, 2013, 12:49 pm
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It therefore make no sense to call the bank a credit card.
And btw DC is a charge card, not a credit card!
Feb 26, 2014, 11:42 am
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In the North American banking circles it's "bee-moe".
To be clear, they're a credit card issuer (opposed to a network like Visa/MasterCard/Amex). And yes, they are more than an issuer - also a full service bank both North and South.
To be clear, they're a credit card issuer (opposed to a network like Visa/MasterCard/Amex). And yes, they are more than an issuer - also a full service bank both North and South.