The Bank of Montreal (BMO) is one of the main Canadian banking institutions. They offer a full line of essential services for Canadians, including loans, credit cards, mortgages, and other credit products. BMO offers free credit scores to their clients through TransUnion. Your credit score is important as it makes an impact on the kinds of loans, credit cards, insurance you can get. More importantly, it can affect if a landlord or a potential employer accept your application.
When you use the BMO free credit score service through TransUnion, it’s going to be a soft credit check. This means it’s not going to impact your credit score. The free credit score product offered by BMO is called CreditView. Not only do you get a free credit score, there are also tips on how you can improve your credit. You can improve your financial health because you can see what exactly is affecting your score.
Getting your free credit score through CreditView is an easy process. You just need to have online banking or use the mobile app. Your free credit score lets you know where you stand in terms of how good or bad your credit is. It’s a fast, easy process that is highly secure and is only available to those who bank at BMO.
What you can do with CreditView
CreditView allows you to understand the factors affecting your credit score. You get tips on how to improve it, which gives you greater control over your credit score in the future. There’s no impact on your credit score and it’s a free service.
Get your credit score
With CreditView, there are easy-to-understand visuals that display your score. You can see what’s affecting your score and the changes over time. It can be humbling to see how far you have come or how far you need to go.
Score simulator
If you’re looking to get another credit card or want to pay off the balance of your current card, the score simulator allows you to see how this will affect your credit score. The simulator will show you how your score will be affected before you commit to paying down your card or applying for another one.
Credit report
You get a detailed report of your past credit history and any borrowing activity in Canada. This includes a list of your active accounts, your payment history, and the past credit checks on your account. This is an excellent time to spot if something seems unusual.
Credit education
BMO also gives you information on how to get a better credit score. Remember: financial literacy, like knowing how to manage money can only benefit you. BMO offers helpful insight on credit, lending, and general financial habits that will improve your credit.
Signing up for your free credit score with BMO
If you’re banking with BMO and have already set up your online banking, it’s quick and easy to get your free credit score. You can look at CreditView anytime you log in, at no cost. You can do it online or from the mobile app.
Online banking
Signing up for your free credit score on BMO is a three-strp process.
- Sign in to your online banking
- Click “My Profile & eDocuments”
- In the left menu, click on “My Credit Score”
BMO mobile app
For this you will need the BMO app. Once you sign up, it is another easy three-step process.
- Open the app
- Tap on the More menu that you find in Your Settings
- Click on My Credit Score
Why you should know your credit score
The credit score offered through BMO is a free service and doesn’t negatively affect your credit score. If you’re thinking of applying for credit products like a mortgage, loan, or credit card, you want to know where you stand. A credit score below 600 is considered weak. If your credit is higher than 660, you should expect lower interest rates and the ability to obtain the best credit options.
If your score is low, say between 300 and 600, you may want to consider waiting to apply for a loan until it’s improved. You can build your credit score by using secured or guaranteed credit cards like KOHO or Refresh. Other things that can improve your credit score is not closing any of your credit cards, and paying your credit cards on time.Through BMO and the CreditView service they offer, you’ll receive valuable insights on how you can improve your credit. Even if you’re not planning to borrow money right away, you can work towards getting a higher credit score.
About The Author: Arthur Dubois
Passionate about personal finance and financial technology, Arthur Dubois is a writer and SEO specialist at Hardbacon. Since his arrival in Canada, he’s built his credit score from nothing.
Arthur invests in the stock market but doesn’t pay any fees because he uses National Bank Direct Brokerage online broker and Wealthsimple’s robo-advisor. He pays for his subscriptions online with his KOHO prepaid card, and uses his Tangerine credit card for most of his in-store purchases. When he buys bitcoins, it’s with the BitBuy online platform. Of course it goes without saying that he uses the Hardbacon app so that he can manage all of his finances from one convenient place.
More posts by Arthur Dubois