The ultimate virtual Visa card

KOHO is a free spending and savings account where you can get instant cash back and earn interest on your entire account. You get a prepaid reloadable Mastercard that gives you all the spending power of a credit card without any fees or interest.

Unlike a credit card, however, the KOHO card draws from funds that are already your money. This key difference makes you spend more mindfully and effectively save more. It’s connected to a smart budgeting app that simplifies day-to-day finances with spending insights and balance updates after each purchase. As a result, the average KOHO user saves 7% of whatever money they load into their account.

It’s pretty simple. You add funds to your KOHO account in one of three ways: e-Transfer from your regular bank account, loading through an existing Visa debit, or by having your work’s payroll directly deposit your paycheque (we call this direct deposit).

Then, you use your KOHO card, either in person or online, to make purchases just like you would with any debit or credit.

Plus, KOHO runs on the Mastercard network, so merchants can treat your KOHO card just like a normal credit card transaction.

We’ve partnered with Peoples Trust, a federally regulated bank to hold any money you load onto your KOHO card. This means that if anything were to happen to us (and that’s a big if!), your money would be safe and you’d be able to access it through Peoples Trust. If you place your money in interest-bearing accounts, not only will you get a high interest rate, but your funds will also be eligible for CDIC insurance.

The big difference is that we’re digital-first. We prioritize financially empowering our users over things like branded ATMs (though KOHO works at any ol’ ATM, and we won’t charge you for using one). Consequently, we can keep our costs low and aim to pass these savings to our users.

Plus, you get 1% cash back on groceries, bills & services and you can make even more when you shop at our brand partners.

Also, our app is pretty awesome.

We’ve put in the research time to make it dead simple to use, and there are lots of built-in ways to make the most of your money.

We tweak and improve our app in order to release updates every three weeks. Which, to be frank, is not a thing banks can say. Banks usually release a new version of their apps once a year.

Right now KOHO has three subscription plans you can choose from: Easy (this is the free one), Essential, and Premium. Each plan offers something different, so depending on how you want to use KOHO you can choose a plan that will work for you. And remember, you can switch plans at any time.

Honestly? Probably, yes – but you can use KOHO for most of your day-to-day needs and have your regular bank as back-up.

If you’re down to have your paycheque deposited directly and never need to write paper cheques, you can use KOHO for all your personal finance needs.

It’s super simple to pay your bills from your KOHO account. You can also send unlimited free e-Transfers, and, of course, use the card anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Also, you can instantly deposit e-Transfers from other KOHO users.

However, if you need to write cheques or receive e-Transfers from non-KOHO accounts, you’ll still need a regular bank account for those functions.

Most people start out by using KOHO for the fun kind of spending – loading their account with what’s left over after accounting for standard expenses and savings. The guilt-free spendable, if you will.

Some financial experts recommend around 30% of each paycheque should go toward guilt-free spending, but your specific budget might vary.

It’s just as easy as reaching for a credit card, but it won’t cost you 20% to finance your life and since it’s already your money, you know you’re staying within your means.

1. $1.00 Inactivity fee: This monthly fee is applied to accounts that have been open for 13 months and inactive for 6 months. “Inactive accounts” are defined as accounts that have not made any transactions or loaded money onto the account. So, just make sure to load your account or make a purchase every 6 months to avoid the charge.

2. Foreign Transaction Fees (FX fees): With a regular KOHO account, you will be charged 1.5% on non-Canadian transactions made with your KOHO card. Want to skip the fee? Sign up for a Premium account to have all FX fees waived.

3. 75¢ Visa Direct Load Fee per transaction (for transactions of or under $300).

Deep-dive into the details of our Card Holder Agreement