My KOHO Review After 5 Years Of Using It!
I’m Mark, and I nerd out on personal finances 🤓 I spend my free time using apps that affect our money. Why? Because there is a lack of unbiased content for Canadians. So I’m here to help you make better financial decisions to live happy, healthy, and wealthy lives.
This is my KOHO review where you’ll get the pros and cons of KOHO’s app and their pre-paid credit cards. I’ve been using KOHO daily for the past 5 years! Find all my KOHO referral codes here.
The no-fee alternative solution to banking
KOHO Pros
If you have not watched my full KOHO review on YouTube, you should! KOHO is quickly developing into a replacement solution for your everyday banking. These are my favourite features:
No monthly, or annual fees!
Create automated savings goals
Earn 0.5 – 6% cash back on all your purchases
Earn interest on all your money
KOHO’s credit building feature
Direct deposit from your employer – right into your account
Amazing savings, budgeting & roundup tools
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Nothing’s perfect, so here are the downsides…
KOHO Cons
KOHO has discontinued their bold metal credit card, which I personally love! But that’s just a vanity metric. Here’s the real downsides of using KOHO that you should be aware of.
No mobile check deposit
Some businesses do not accept pre-paid credits cards (KOHO only offers pre-paid aka secured credit cards)
Poor customer support – this has been an ongoing issue. I believe that some of the high support demand comes from bad UX design. e.g. the “negative” spendable dollars.
You can not “lock” your savings accounts (only your “vault”). So your spending account balance can be negative – which is a weird thing to process.
KOHO Card FAQ’s
What is KOHO?
KOHO is a free everyday banking account / app designed to empower Canadians with a zero-fee banking solution. KOHO is like a chequing account with no monthly fee. You load funds to your account, then use your prepaid credit card the same way you’d use any debit or credit card.
Plus all the money you load onto your KOHO card earns interest and earns cash back on all your purchases. Plus they have awesome insights, and tools to help you automatically save. Personally I’ve saved over $3,000 on bank fees from switching to KOHO and I’m not looking back 😎.
How do you get a KOHO card?
Getting a free pre-paid KOHO card is easy. You just need to create an account and you get a free KOHO card mailed to your door. Plus you can use this link to earn an extra 1% cash back on all of your spending!
Is KOHO safe?
Yes KOHO is safe to use. Any money you deposit with KOHO is stored at Peoples Trust which is a federally regulated bank. This means your money is CDIC-insured and 100% safe to use.
How does KOHO work?
KOHO works just like any other banking account, credit or debit card. KOHO is a pre-paid visa card so you have to load money into your account in order to use the credit card. However unlike a bank KOHO has no-fees, gives you free cash back on spending and earns interest just like a high interest savings.
Personally I’ve switched from TD chequing account to using only KOHO and I absolutely love it and am not looking back. See ya later stupid bank fees!
How To Get Started With KOHO
#1 Signup
Signup to KOHO using their secure application. Use the link below to earn an extra 1% cash back when you signup!
#2 Verify Identity
You’ll be prompted to verify your identity. As required by all Canadian financial institutions.
#3 Deposit Funds
E-transfer to yourself, send a direct Visa debt, or setup direct deposit with your employer.
#4 Start Saving!
Earn interest on all your money, earn cash back from what you spend, and setup your smart savings goals!
Most Useful KOHO Features Part 1
Roundups & High Interest, Smart Savings
KOHO provides us Canadians with a lot of useful features – that the big banks do not have.
Roundups, where every purchase you make is rounded to the nearest dollar or 2 dollars and automatically stashed away in a savings account for you.
Smart Savings Make a goal, pick a date and KOHO will automatically transfer money every day into your goal.
Earn high Interest KOHO also functions like a high-interest savings account, and has one of the best rates in Canada.
Most Useful KOHO Features Part 2
Joint Accounts!
If you’re one of the lucky ones that has a partner in crime life then you can setup a joint account together! You’ll each get a separate joint KOHO card, and have the ability to make joint savings goals together.
Money With Mark’s Take:
My Personal Thoughts on KOHO
Canadians are getting robbed. The big banks price gouge us, make billions off of the hard working backs of Canadians by sneaking in fine print to contracts. Plus colluding with the other big banks to set world wide record prices for all financial services.
It’s about time that Canadians start getting access to everyday banking alternatives. KOHO is that alternative. While there’s lots of benefits to their competitors like Wealthsimple and Neo. KOHO is the only company that takes helping Canadians save seriously. With the most helpful features, insights, and savings tools KOHO deserves to be your everyday banking solution. But more importantly you deserve to use KOHO!
My KOHO Review Summary: after using it for 5 years!
My KOHO Review after using it for 5 years!
KOHO is a no-fee online banking alternative to the big banks. They provide pre-paid credit cards and an extremely well designed and functional app. That enables Canadians to budget, save with smart savings, build credit history, and earn interest all in one easy to use app.
Overall
4.8Pros
- Basically a full functioning bank
- Create automated savings goals
- Earn cash back on all your purchases
- Earn interest on all your money
- Accept e-transfers from anyone
- Direct deposit from your employer – right into your account
- Amazing savings, budgeting & roundup tools
Cons
- Some businesses do not accept pre-paid credits cards (KOHO only offers pre-paid aka secured credit cards)
- Poor customer support – this has been an ongoing issue. I believe that some of the high support demand comes from bad UX design. e.g. the “negative” spendable dollars.
- You can not “lock” your savings accounts (only your “vault”). So your spending account balance can be negative – which is a weird thing to process.
