A big bank thinks small and fast

Large institutions are hardly known for nimble strategies, large financial institution even less so. But as digital technologies and customer expectations rapidly evolve, the smart players in the financial services industry are getting a handle on the fast-moving dynamics of consumer-focused innovation. 



Bank of Montreal (BMO)—the eighth largest bank in North America, with more than 13 million customers—is in the midst of a long-term digital-transformation program to develop a suite of tools that address customer needs across channels: connecting online, mobile, and in-person banking experiences. “For something as important as personal finances,” says Peter Poon, head of digital product management for service, platforms and innovation at BMO, “we need to be easy to use, we need to be personalized, and we need to deliver value to the customer.”



This ongoing commitment to develop-ing customer-empowering tools that drive financial health, sustainability, and inclusivity has earned BMO a place on Fast Company ’s list of the world’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024.



AN ENGINE FOR INNOVATION



The beating heart of these innovation efforts is BMO’s in-house incubator program, InnoV8. Combining the resources of a large company with the agility of a startup, InnoV8 facilitates speedy ideation and incubation of disruptive technologies. The incubator was behind the launch of some of BMO’s leading digital capabilities, such as CashTrack, which helps customers anticipate upcoming cash shortfalls, and QuickPay, which lets them pay bills directly via emails to the bank. 







“The aim of InnoV8 is to transform the customer journey in anticipation of the continued evolution of financial services,” Poon says. “Everything that we incubate is aligned to key customer trends and to accelerate financial progress.” 



InnoV8 cultivates innovation by enabling BMO employees to learn by working with emerging technologies. Those who champion ideas identified for further development are involved in the complete process, from incubation to product launch. “It’s a great way to develop skills among employees and drives an entrepreneurial mindset across our company,” Poon says.



The program has formed key partnerships with financial, info tech, and consulting firms to foster an exchange of domain knowledge, best practices, and solutions. Current partners include Capco, Deloitte, EY, IBM, and TCS. 



BMO’s size, and the experience of its teams, allows the company to scale ideas rapidly. “We’re able to bring concepts to a much larger audience, much quicker than we would if we were a startup,” Poon said. 



InnoV8 keeps a focus on seed-stage concepts with a 36-month roadmap to maturity and commercializes a remarkable two out of three concepts it explores. 



UNCOVERING CORE NEEDS



For BMO, product design is rooted in the customer. “We leverage our design thinking process to better understand their underlying needs,” Poon says. And, he adds, it has also led BMO to uncover solutions that were not explicitly obvious through direct research and surveys. 



BMO customers, for example, reported a desire to grow their day-to-day savings—more specifically, a program that made it easier to save money towards a goal and helped them stay on track. That discovery led to an integrated solution called Savings Amplifier that enabled customers to have funds automatically set aside while maintaining a sufficient minimum balance. 



“Digital tools like Savings Amplifier enable us to deliver a personalized banking experience at scale,” Poon says, “and allow all of our customers to make real financial progress.”