BMO, the eighth largest bank by assets in North America, has joined the IBM Quantum Network.

The bank said the move will help it to develop and deploy quantum-powered solutions across its operations and improve service for its customers and clients.

The IBM Quantum Network supports businesses, universities and other organisations on their journeys to adopting quantum technology. Members of the network gain access to learning resources, experts, and events to accelerate research and foster collaboration.

BMO, which is the first Canadian bank to join the network, said the investment in quantum technology is part of its wider digital-first strategy to deliver positive outcomes at scale by merging human knowledge with the latest technology.

In joining the network, the bank said it would accelerate the development of new approaches to help its clients and support business growth. Additionally, the technology will optimise investment portfolio strategies as well as uncover deep insights into risk management solutions.

"BMO's access to IBM's quantum systems represents a bold step forward in our digital-first strategy," said Dr. Kristin Milchanowski, chief AI and data officer at BMO. "Quantum computing holds transformative potential, and BMO is now positioned as a leader in this space to drive future innovation."

Earlier this week JP Morgan, HSBC and Goldman Sachs were named the top three quantum innovators in a new index.

According to the Quantum Innovation Index, the three banks – along with seven other financial services institutions – are demonstrating a "clear commitment" to quantum research and implementation.

In November, UK-based Quantum Motion announced it has been working with Goldman Sachs to investigate how quantum computing can be used in financial services to perform complex calculations, including options pricing.

The scale-up, which was founded by professor John Morton, University College London (UCL), and professor Simon Benjamin, Oxford University, worked alongside the bank to explore how intricate multi-qubit operations can be applied within pricing algorithms.

Last Summer, HSBC joined Singapore’s central bank in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on quantum security.

The move will sees the two organisations, alongside several other banks and technology firms, study the application of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to help address quantum computing cyber threats by protecting the exchange of cryptographic keys.

At the beginning of last year, JPMorgan Chase led a $300 million funding round in Quantinuum, an integrated quantum computing company.

Quantinuum said the funds will be used to develop the world’s first universal fault-tolerant quantum computers, while also increasing the firm’s product range.

JPMorgan Chase has specialist teams working on quantum technologies within the financial services industry and has been working with Quantinuum and its predecessor companies since 2020.

HSBC has also been working with Quantinuum since June 2023 to push the boundaries on how it can apply quantum technology and post-quantum cryptography to real world uses cases.

In September 2024, it announced that it had successfully trialled the first application of quantum-secure technology for buying and selling tokenised physical gold.

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