Photographing a check with a phone and depositing it through the BMO app is about to come with a firmer clock. Starting Nov. 7, 2026, mobile deposits into BMO checking accounts will generally be available the next business day, and deposits into savings accounts will generally be available by the second business day. The bank spells this out in an important notice at the front of its Deposit Account Agreement.

What the notice says

BMO is moving the rules for mobile deposits into Section 8 of the Deposit Account Agreement. Until now, those rules sat in a separate document, the BMO Digital Banking Agreement, or the BMO Business Digital Banking Agreement for business customers. The notice says the funds-availability rules for mobile deposits are “changing,” and that the change takes effect Nov. 7, 2026.

The timing works like this. A check deposited into a checking account will generally be available the next business day after BMO receives the image. A check deposited into a savings account will generally be available by the second business day.

Business days are Monday through Friday, not counting bank holidays.

The notice leaves out one type of deposit. Mobile deposits made through FundsNow are not covered by this change.

New accounts and extended holds

Two exceptions stand out. First, BMO treats an account as new if it was opened 30 days or less before the deposit. Second, the notice says “extended holds may apply.” It does not list the reasons in the notice itself, and Section 8 of the agreement is where the full rules sit.

Customers who open an account to receive a first check, such as a new checking account used for a move or a new job, are the ones most likely to see the new-account language apply. The timing in the headline is the general case, not a promise for every deposit.

Nov. 7 is the date BMO’s new mobile deposit schedule starts, and it applies to every BMO customer who deposits checks by phone.

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What federal rules already say about holds

Banks do not set deposit timing from scratch. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that some deposits must be available by the next business day, including in-person cash deposits, electronic payments and in-person personal checks drawn on the same bank. Deposits made after a bank’s cut-off time may be treated as made the next business day.

The CFPB also says a bank may place a longer hold when an account has been open for less than 30 days. Other reasons for extending a hold include repeated overdrafts in the past six months, a check the bank believes may not be collectible, and suspected fraud. For checks of more than $5,525, the first $225 is generally available the next business day, up to $5,525 within two business days for local checks, and amounts above that generally within seven business days. That page was last reviewed Aug. 28, 2026.

BMO’s notice does not describe how those larger-deposit rules apply to its mobile app.

Other documents BMO is updating

The notice adds a definition of “Mobile Deposit” to the Glossary in the account Handbook. It also says the Deposit Account Disclosures and the BMO Business Service Fee Schedules will be updated to match. The notice does not mention a mobile-deposit cutoff time, so the time of day a deposit is sent may matter in a way the notice does not spell out.

Questions go to BMO at 1-888-340-BANK (2265), the number printed on the notice.

Who is affected

Anyone with a BMO checking or savings account who deposits checks by phone. Retirees who deposit a pension or annuity check, a refund check or a check from a family member through the app are in that group. Customers who deposit at a branch or an ATM are not the subject of this notice.

Planning around the new timing

The new schedule helps most when a bill is due soon. A check photographed on a Monday into checking would generally be spendable Tuesday. The same check sent to savings would generally be there by Wednesday. Moving the money from savings to checking afterward adds time on top.

Before Nov. 7, customers can read Section 8 of the agreement on BMO’s site and look for the extended-hold language. Written down beside each deposit, the date it was sent and the date it showed as available gives a record to bring to the bank if a hold looks longer than the notice suggests.

The CFPB’s page on how long banks can hold deposited funds sets out the federal rules that sit behind the bank’s own schedule, and the bank’s phone line is the place to ask what applies to a particular account.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.