Are you tired of the annual interest and fees of credit cards? A reloadable card like KOHO Prepaid Card can help.
With a KOHO Prepaid card, you get all the convenience of a debit/credit card without the annual fees, purchase interest and fees. This gives you more control over your money and spending habits.
But is the KOHO Prepaid Card perfect for you? What are the pros and cons?
This KOHO Prepaid Card review covers everything you need to know about the card including its alternatives.
Overview of KOHO
KOHO is a Toronto-based fintech company offering unique banking solutions through its partnership with Peoples Trust and Mastercard.
Founded in 2014, KOHO offers a high-interest savings account, a prepaid Mastercard and a subscription-based credit builder to help Canadians take control of their finances.
With these innovative offerings, KOHO continues to distinguish itself from other fintech companies in Canada and has managed to attract over 500,000 users.
In this review, we will take a closer look at the KOHO Prepaid Mastercard to help you determine whether it’s perfect for your needs.
What is a KOHO Prepaid Card?
KOHO Prepaid Card is a reloadable Mastercard that is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted either in person or online.
Unlike a credit card, the KOHO Prepaid Card uses only the money you deposited in your account to pay for purchases. This helps you take control of your money and can help you stay on top of your spending.
To help you save more, the KOHO Prepaid Card offers a 1% cashback for eligible purchases and 0.5% interest on your balance.
Your purchases can also be automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar through the KOHO RoundUp feature, helping you save more money effortlessly.
Finally, you can upgrade your KOHO Prepaid Card to KOHO Premium Card at any time to enjoy advanced features such as free foreign transactions and higher cashback on your purchases.
Pros
- No monthly fees
- Interest On balance
- Cashback on purchases
- Free ATM access
- Automatically roundups purchase
- Budgeting app
- Real-time data on spending habits
- Deposit protection
- Insurance
Cons
- Doesn’t build credit scores (you need to pay $10/month to use a KOHO credit store builder)
Key Features of KOHO Prepaid Card
The following are the key features of the KOHO Prepaid Card you need to consider before subscribing:
- Prepaid card: The KOHO Prepaid Card is not a credit card – it works more like a debit card that gives you access to the funds in your spending account. While this will help you save on interest and fees, it will not build your credit score. However, KOHO has a separate credit builder service that charges $10 per month.
- Interest: You will earn daily interest of 0,5% on your balance and receive the earned interest monthly.
- Free transactions: You can make unlimited free e-Transfers and ATM transactions from your KOHO account.
- Cashback: You will get 1% cash back on groceries, bills & services. To boost this low cashback, you can upgrade to the KOHO Premium Card to earn up to 2% cashback and 2% interest on the balance.
- Insurance and security: Deposits with KOHO are held with Peoples Trust, a CDIC member, so your funds have CDIC protection.
KOHO Prepaid Card Fees
While KOHO doesn’t have monthly fees, ATM fees, e-Transfer fees, and interest on purchases, it has the following fees and rates
| Service | Fee/Rate |
|---|---|
| Inactivity fee | $1.00 |
| Foreign transaction fees | 1.5% |
How to Apply for a KOHO Prepaid Card
To apply for a KOHO Prepaid Card, you need to download the KOHO mobile app available on Google Playstore or App Store.
The only requirement for applying for the card is to have a Canadian bank account for making your initial free e-Transfer.
After downloading the app, you can install and log in to the KOHO app to sign-up in less than 5 minutes.
KOHO will send you a physical card by mail within 10 days of verifying your account. If it exceeds 10 days without receiving the card, notify KOHO through their in-app chat.
That said, you will be issued a virtual card immediately when you open a KOHO account. This allows you to start shopping online right away.
All you need is to add the virtual card to an online payment system or a mobile wallet, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay to start shopping while waiting for the physical card.
KOHO Referral Code
KOHO has a referral program that rewards new users with a welcome bonus of $20 when they sign up using a KOHO referral code “WALLETBLISS” or click this referral link.
To qualify, simply make at least one purchase with your KOHO card once you receive it or use the virtual card within 30 days of sign-up.
You can make extra money by getting your own unique referral link and sharing it with your friends and family.
Check this post to learn more about the KOHO referral code and how it works.
KOHO Prepaid Card vs KOHO Premium Prepaid Card
| Key Feature | KOHO Prepaid Card | KOHO Premium Prepaid Card |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fees | None | $9 |
| Interest on balance | 0.5% | 2% |
| Cashback on selected purchases | 1% | 2% |
| Cashback on every other purchase | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| FX fees | 1.5% | None |
| Credit builder | $10/month | $7/month |
| Special features | N/A | One free monthly international ATM withdrawal and extra cashback at partner stores. |
The KOHO Premium Prepaid Card operates just like the KOHO prepaid card but with some advanced features and benefits. While both prepaid cards offer 0.5 cash back on every other purchase, they differ widely as you can see from the table above.
With the KOHO Premium Card, you will earn 2% interest on your balance and 2% cashback on groceries, restaurants and transportation spending. Most importantly, you will earn extra cashback at select merchants with the premium card.
In addition, you will enjoy one free monthly international ATM withdrawal and unlimited free foreign transactions with the KOHO Premium Card.
But unlike the KOHO Prepaid Card which has no monthly fees, the premium card has a $9 fee per month or an $84 fee per year with a 30-day free trial.
Note that KOHO has another card known as “Frozen Cherry Soda” or “Essential” which charges $4 per month. The card offers 1% cashback on selected purchases and 0.25% on every other purchases. Other features of this card includes:
- 1.5% interest on balance
- Credit building at $7/month
- Roundups
KOHO Prepaid Card vs MogoCard
The MogoCard is one of the top competitors of KOHO Prepaid for obvious reasons.
While they both charge no monthly fees, the KOHO KOHO Prepaid Card operates on the Mastercard network and MogoCard operates on the Visa network.
Beyond these similarities, the two prepaid cards differ considerably. Unlike the KOHO Prepaid Card, the MogoCard doesn’t have cashback and interest on the balance.
Instead, you will get green satoshis and one carbon-sucking tree planted on your behalf for every purchase with the MogoCard. This makes you an automatic ambassador of the fight against climate change.
In addition, you will get free monthly credit score monitoring and identity fraud protection on the MogoCard which is worth $240 annually.
However, MogoCard has relatively higher fees than the KOHO Prepaid Card. It charges a $1.99 inactivity fee against the KOHO’s $1.00 fee.
The MogoCard also charges a 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee which is relatively higher than the KOHO’s 1.5% fee.
While KOHO Prepaid Card offers free ATM access, MogoCard charges a $1.50 domestic ATM fee.
Also, the MogoCard has a limited total balance limit of $10,000 compared to KOHO’s $20,000 limit.
Bottom Line – you can take more control of your spending habits, credit score and finance with the MogoCard. However, you will save and earn more on your purchases with the KOHO Prepaid card.
Learn more about the MogoCard in this detailed MogoCard Review.
KOHO Prepaid Card vs Stack Prepaid Mastercard
The KOHO Prepaid Card and Stack Prepaid Mastercard are both offered and covered by the Peoples Trust Companies and they operate on the Mastercard network.
Unlike KOHO Prepaid which doesn’t charge monthly fees, Stack recently introduced a $7.99 monthly fee to all cardholders.
Although both prepaid cards don’t charge interest on purchases and they offer cashback on purchases including FX purchases with the Stack Prepaid Mastercard.
Also, both prepaid cards offer free ATM access with the Stack Prepaid Mastercard offering cashback even on international ATM withdrawals.
Like KOHO Prepaid Card, the Stack Prepaid Mastercard also automatically rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and offers real-time updates on your spending habits.
Despite these similarities, the two prepaid cards differ in some aspects. While the KOHO Prepaid Card has a 1.5% FX fee, the Stack Prepaid Mastercard has a relatively higher FX fee of 2.50%.
However, Stack waives the 2.50% FX fee when you spend a minimum of $350 with the card monthly.
Unlike with the KOHO Prepaid card, you can split your bills with your friends and family instantly using Stack’s “Split the Bill” feature.
Finally, the KOHO Prepaid Card has interest on balance, while the Stack Prepaid Mastercard has none.
KOHO Prepaid Card vs Simplii Financial Visa Card
If you’re looking for a no-fee cashback Visa credit card to build your credit score, the Simplii Financial Visa Card may be ideal.
As a credit card, the Simplii Visa card has a 19.99% purchase interest and a 22.99% interest on balance transfers, cash advances, and convenience cheques.
However, the Simplii Visa card has no monthly fees and it offers a 9.99% introductory rate on purchases for your initial 3 months of signing up.
As of the time of writing this KOHO Prepaid Card review, the Simplii Visa card offers 10% cashback for your first 4 months of cardholding and up to 4% cashback afterwards.
Like the KOHO Prepaid Card, the Simplii Visa card also offers free ATM access at any CIBC ATM in Canada.
The Simplii Visa card not only offers Purchase Security and Extended Protection but also travel medical insurance.
With this and many other factors, the Simplii Visa card is worth considering if you’re looking for a standard Visa card with similar features as the KOHO Prepaid Card.
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KOHO Prepaid Card Switch
KOHO has moved from Visa to Mastercard operating network. The change is expected to roll over in full by the end of 2022.
With this development, KOHO Prepaid and Premium card users can use their cards anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
The switch has not impacted the features of KOHO cards. Instead, clients can expect faster, more flexible and more convenient payments with the switch.
This also means that KOHO card users can now enjoy Mastercard’s Zero Liability Protection, Mastercard Contactless and Mastercard Priceless Experiences.
That said, there’s no effort required from you to get the new KOHO Mastercard. Once your address is up to date on the KOHO app, the card will be issued to you automatically before the year ends.
Verdict on KOHO Prepaid Card Review
The bottom line is that you can’t make the wrong decision with the KOHO Prepaid Card if you’re looking to save cost from credit card annual interest and fees.
While there are low-interest credit cards with low fees, the KOHO Prepaid Card gives you complete control of your money.
If the KOHO Prepaid Card doesn’t suit your needs, consider the other prepaid cards, such as MogoCard and Stack Prepaid Mastercard.
But if you’re looking for a cash back credit card with no annual fee in Canada, you can’t go wrong with the Neo Financial Credit Card with up to 5% cash back at partner stores or the Simplii Cash Back Visa Card.
Which card are you going with? Kindly let me know in the comment below.
KOHO Prepaid Card Review
Summary
KOHO Prepaid Card is a reloadable Visa card that offers a 0.5% cash back on purchases and 1.20% on your balance. get $20 when you sign up with KOHO promo code WALLETBLISS.
