{"id":821849,"date":"2019-12-09T15:04:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T20:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/ca\/?p=821849"},"modified":"2025-10-17T13:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T17:38:32","slug":"moka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/ca\/investments\/moka","title":{"rendered":"Moka app review"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does Moka work?<\/h3>

Moka, previously known as Mylo, invests your spare change \u2013 your electronic spare change that is. Once you download the Moka app on your phone, you can connect it to your debit or credit card, or both. When you make purchases using the connected card(s), Moka rounds your purchase up to the nearest dollar and invests the extra.<\/p>

For example, when you buy a cup of coffee for $1.85 with your debit card, Moka will round up the amount to $2.00 in this case and invest the extra 15 cents. That may sound like a pittance, but over the course of a year, your spare change can really add up. For example, three transactions a day with an average round-up of 50 cents equals $547.50 \u2013 all of it invested without you doing anything beyond buying the things you normally do.<\/p>
Minimum deposit to open an account<\/th>$0<\/td><\/tr>
Monthly fee<\/th><\/td><\/tr>
Available asset types<\/th>ETFs
<\/td><\/tr>
Available accounts<\/th>RRSP, TFSA or non-registered accounts<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

How much does Moka cost?<\/h3>
Moka’s management fee<\/strong><\/td> (flat fee)<\/td><\/tr>
Average robo-advisor’s management fee<\/strong><\/td>0.4%-0.6% of portfolio value<\/td><\/tr>
Average traditional financial advisor’s management fee <\/strong><\/td>1-2% per of portfolio value<\/td><\/tr>
Management expense ratio (MER)*<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

*The underlying fund companies in your portfolio charge the MER fee, not the robo-advisor. The cost varies depending on the fund and the company. MER fees apply no matter what robo-advisor or traditional advisor you use to manage your money. You’d even have to pay them if you picked all the ETF funds yourself using an online broker.<\/em><\/p>

With Moka, the more you save the more value you get. The flat monthly fee amounts to an annual charge of $48. Your round-ups would have to total $6,000 in a one-year period to equal an annual fee of 0.8%. If your round-ups totaled $1,000, the annual fee would be about 4.8%. Moka‘s value proposition gets better the longer you use the app and the more money you build up in your portfolio. If you build your portfolio up to $30,000, that $48 annual fee works out to about 1.6% of your total funds invested.<\/p>

For more on investing, read our guide<\/a>.<\/p>

How to use the Moka app:<\/h3>
  1. Download the Moka app.<\/strong><\/li>
  2. Answer the questions about your risk preference and goals. <\/strong>You will be prompted to answer questions about your financial situation, the level of investing risk you are comfortable taking on and your financial goals. Moka says this information allows its fund managers to recommend a portfolio that reflects your unique situation.<\/li>
  3. Buy stuff. <\/strong>Moka uses something a round-up feature. Every purchase you make is rounded up to the nearest dollar and the amount rounded up is invested in your portfolio. This doesn’t happen instantaneously. Moka automatically withdraws the total of your round-ups from the past seven days from your account each week.<\/li>
  4. Watch your money grow. <\/strong>Now for the easy part. Moka balances your portfolio of ETFs according to how the market is moving. Your money is invested by a portfolio manager from Tactex Asset Management<\/a>, a Moka company that manages over $140 million in assets.<\/li><\/ol>

    Why should I invest with Moka?<\/h3>

    Moka helps turn spending habits into saving habits. You don’t need to know anything about investing, you don’t have to change your lifestyle, and you don’t even need to make deposits. Some people have a difficult time saving money. One way to look at Moka is as a forced savings tool that is easier than figuring out how to set aside money each month.<\/p>

    The Moka app also lets you set financial goals, like saving for retirement, a down payment on a new home or for other big purchases. You can even opt to increase your savings by creating what Moka calls “multipliers” on your round-ups, which allocate an additional amount from each purchase to different goals.<\/p>

    For example, if you buy a coffee for $4.50, you could set up Moka to double your 50 cents in spare change, rounding it up to $1. As the company describes it, you’d be putting $1 aside on a $4.50 purchase.<\/p>

    What are the benefits of Moka?<\/h3>