My Honest KOHO Credit Building Review.
I spend my free time testing new financial products for Canadians. Just like KOHO’s credit building feature. KOHO will open a dedicated line of credit on your behalf, but you won’t have access to it. Then you choose a set amount to set aside each month from your line of credit. As you pay their monthly fee you’ll also be repaying the full amount on your line of credit.
This is my honest KOHO credit building review so you know the pros and cons of it. That way you can evaluate it to see if it’s right for you.
The no-fee alternative solution to banking
Credit Building Pros
If you have not watched my full KOHO Credit Building review on YouTube, you should! KOHO is quickly developing into a replacement solution for your everyday bank. These are my favourite features of their credit building program:
Debt-safe way to build credit history
Grows your credit history by reporting proper credit utilization & repayments to the credit bureaus.
Earn interest on all your money
Common score upgrades are 20 – 100 points within 6 – 9 months
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Here are the downsides
KOHO Credit Building Review Cons
KOHO’s Credit Building does not have any specific cons. But there is some contextual information with your credit history and credit score that you should be aware of.
Does not fix outstanding / overdue bills
Only affects your credit history, there are lots of other factors that go into a credit score.
Costs $10 / month (but at least KOHO is a free app!)
Credit Building FAQ’s
Is KOHO good for credit buildling?
If you’re just using KOHO’s pre-paid credit card and app features, you are not building your credit history. Which means you’re not going to improve your credit score. You NEED to signup and pay for KOHO’s credit building feature, which is a secured way to improve your credit history, which can improve your score.
Will KOHO improve my credit score?
KOHO can improve your credit score, but it’s not a guarantee. It depends on what your credit history looks like. So before signing up I highly recommend checking and monitoring your credit score through a service like Trans Union. As you also need to fix the major mistakes and outstanding payments first (if possible).
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 To Start Building Your Credit History With KOHO
#1 Signup
Signup to KOHO using their secure application.
#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 Building!
Start your monthly credit building with their easy to use app!
Follow Mark’s credit card protocol for optimal results
⚠️Caution: Most Credit Cards Are Not Used Optimally
Don’t fall for the common credit traps, and make sure that you learn how to use and compare credit cards. Mark has boiled down the best credit score advice into his credit card protocol. Which will maximize your travel hacking points and minimize the risk of impacting your credit score.
How It Works
What You Need To Know
In my review you probably already know that KOHO’s credit building helps to improve your credit history. But there’s a few critical things you should know.
Why do you have a bad credit score? You should know why you have a bad credit score in the first place. Go to TransUnion and pull your credit score report. If there’s nothing outstanding then you need to improve your credit history!
Credit history improvements only. This won’t fix any score impacts from overdue bills.
New Canadians. Unfortunately your credit history and scores from previous countries do not transfer over to Canada. That’s why you’ll need to use something like KOHO to start a credit history, without the dangers of debt.
Money With Mark’s Final Thoughts:
How You Should Use KOHO Credit Building
KOHO provides a great opportunity for a debt-free method of building your credit history. BUT it will not fix major credit score issues like outstanding bills, and taxes.
So before you signup, make sure you do a full credit score check with something like Trans Union. Resolve all those issues, THEN start with a product like KOHO.
