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KOHO Essential Prepaid Card review
Earn cashback and collect interest on your available card balance with the low-fee KOHO Essential prepaid card.
Earn 1% cashback on groceries, bills and services, and eating and drinking – and collect 0.25% on everything else. Plus, earn 1.5% interest on the balance you store on your card.
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$4/month or $48 annually
Monthly Fee
$0
Cost per transaction
Details
| Monthly Fee | $4/month or $48 annually |
|---|---|
| Card Network | Mastercard |
| Cost per transaction | $0 |
| Special offer | 30-day free trial (first month fee waived – a value of $4) |
| Rewards | Earn 1% cashback on groceries, bills and services, and eating and drinking – and collect 0.25% on everything else. Plus, earn 1.5% interest on the balance you store on your card. |
| Features | Refer a friend and both of you will earn $20 each once they make their first purchase within 30 days of signing up. |
| Go to site More Info |
The KOHO Essential is a prepaid credit card that lets you earn cashback on daily purchases (including groceries, recurring bills and dining out). You’ll also earn 0.25% cashback on every other dollar you spend. For a low-fee card, it offers plenty of useful benefits including unique card designs, savings tools, referral bonuses and an optional credit-building program.
30-second take
- Think about the KOHO Essential card if you would like to earn cashback on a prepaid card for a low monthly fee.
- Choose something else if you want a higher return on rewards or you would rather a free card (in which case, check out the KOHO Easy).
- You won’t need to carry a minimum balance or earn a minimum income to qualify for this card. That said, you will need funds to load onto the card to start spending.
What is KOHO?
KOHO is an innovative financial platform that offers basic, premium and joint chequing accounts to customers. Every account comes with a reloadable prepaid Mastercard card that lets you spend money from your account while you earn cashback.
Once you load funds into your account, you can use your card to make purchases anywhere that Mastercard is accepted. You can also add the KOHO Save feature to your account to earn interest on any funds that you hold as part of your balance.
The basics
Check out the KOHO Essential Prepaid Card for an easy way to earn cashback:
- Cashback return. Earn 1% cashback on groceries, bills and services, and eating and drinking. You'll also earn 0.25% cashback on all other purchases.
- Earn interest on your savings. Sign up for KOHO Save to earn 1.5% interest on any funds you hold in your account.
- No interest. You won’t pay the typical 19.99% interest rate that comes with regular credit cards, since you’re spending your own money.
- Many ways to add funds. Add funds to your account with an e-Transfer, Visa, Mastercard Debit or direct deposit from another bank account.
- Security features. Lock your card in the app if it gets lost or stolen, enable 2-factor authentication and use temporary virtual card numbers to protect your info.
- Funky card designs. Choose from 4 colourful themes.
Which purchases qualify for the higher cashback return?
Find out more about which purchases qualify for each cashback category below:
- Groceries. Get rewarded for shopping with small corner stores, organic markets and large grocery chains.
- Recurring bills. Get a solid return whenever you pay a monthly bill (for example, your phone or utility bill).
- Dining out. Earn cashback at restaurants, bars and coffee shops – including takeout and food delivery.
The perks
- Savings tools. Set savings goals or choose to lock your funds away in the KOHO vault so you don’t spend them.
- Optional credit building. Pay an additional $7 per month to get access to a small line of credit. Repay it on time and build your credit history.
- Optional roundups. To help you save money, every purchase you make with your KOHO card can be rounded to the nearest $1, $2, $5 or $10 (you choose the amount). The difference gets stored away for a rainy day.
- Referral bonus. Refer a friend and both of you will earn $20 each once they make their first purchase within 30 days of signing up.
- Bank-level protection. If KOHO ever goes bankrupt, your funds will be protected up to $100,000 by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
- Add KOHO Cover. Add KOHO Cover for $5 a month and get up to $50 zero-interest overdraft protection. There's no application process, no effect on credit score, and no late fees.
What to watch out for
- No access to credit. You won’t be able to spend any money on your KOHO Essential Prepaid Card that isn’t already in your account.
- Long wait times for e-Transfers. It can take up to 90 minutes for your e-Transfers to send with KOHO.
- Foreign transaction fees. While the KOHO Extra Card offers 0% transaction fees, you’ll pay 1.5% every time you make an overseas purchase with the KOHO Essential.
- No insurance. This card doesn’t offer basic insurance like purchase protection or extended warranty. It also doesn’t offer fraud protection.
What should I know before I apply?
Eligibility requirements
To apply for the KOHO Essential Prepaid Card, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Be the age of majority: at least 18 years old (or 19 in some provinces)
Required documents and information:
- Your name, residential status and contact information
- Your social insurance number (SIN) and date of birth
- Your email address and phone number
How to apply for a new KOHO account
- Click “Go to site” on this page to be securely directed to your KOHO Essential account application.
- Read through the disclosure statement details and click “Accept & Continue”.
- Complete the application with details that include your name, email address, social insurance number and birth date.
- Review and submit your application.
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