KOHO Financial review
Updated September 28, 2026 · SumCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
KOHO Financial suits Canadian members who want fee-free everyday spending plus easy access saving. Its monthly fee is CAD 0, it pays a 2% variable rate on savings, and the same app carries credit building tools and a soft prequalification check.
Key facts
- Best for
- Fee-free Canadian spending, on-demand saving and credit building in one app.
- Monthly fee
- CA$0↗
- Currency conversion fee
- 0%↗
- Card type
- Prepaid↗
- Card network
- Mastercard↗
- Legal entity
- KOHO Financial Inc.↗
- Headquarters
- Canada↗
- Founded
- 2014↗
- Support channels
- Chat, Help-centre↗
- Features
- Travel, Virtual card, Crypto
- Official website
- koho.ca
Loans
- APR
- 19.9% to 34.9%↗
- Loan amount
- CA$1,000 to CA$15,000↗
- Credit check
- Soft prequal↗
- Funding time
- Funds deposited into your bank account the same business day↗
- Rate type
- Variable↗
- Lender type
- Broker↗
- Eligibility
- KOHO members residing in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and British Columbia; Government ID and bank account information required to verify income↗
- Loan types
- Personal, Credit-line, BNPL↗
- Use cases
- Home-improvement↗
- Pricing model
- No annual fee
Credit cards
Savings
- Headline rate
- 2%↗
- Minimum deposit
- CA$0↗
- Access terms
- On-demand access any time; free, unlimited Interac e-Transfers; no transaction or inactivity fees↗
- Account kind
- Easy access↗
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 8 sources
Apps and profiles
- Elsewhere
- LinkedInXTrustpilotinstagram.com
Pros and cons
Pros
- No fees to track: the monthly fee is CAD 0 and the annual fee is CAD 0, with free, unlimited Interac e-Transfers and no ATM withdrawal fees
- Currency conversion costs nothing at 0%, strong against a 1% median across the wider market
- Cashback of 5% on debit purchases, plus virtual card instant issuance and credit building tools in the same app
- Credit runs from CAD 1,000 to CAD 15,000 with a soft prequal and Funds deposited into your bank account the same business day
Cons
- Support runs on chat and help centre only, so there is no phone line for urgent card or money questions
- Credit is arranged as a broker, so approval and terms sit with partner lenders rather than one lender
- Eligibility is limited to residents of Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, and verifying income needs government ID and bank account details
Who it suits
- Residents of Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and British Columbia who want a fee-free Mastercard for daily spending
- Members with a little to spare who want on-demand saving at a 2% variable rate rather than a locked term
- Households building credit through a personal, credit line and bnpl line of credit without a hard check at application
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone outside the provinces on the eligibility list, since eligibility and income verification are tied to Canadian residency
- People who want phone support, because the listed support channels are chat and help centre
- Borrowers after a guaranteed rate, since the 19.9% to 34.9% range can sit well above the 15.5% median for the wider market
How KOHO Financial compares
8.9 vs 9.4
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8.9 vs 8.8Its monthly fee of €5 marks it as a different kind of wallet, useful for moving money across borders rather than spending in Canada.
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Where KOHO Financial is available
- Available
- Canada
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What does KOHO Financial cost to hold?+
The monthly fee is CAD 0 and the annual fee is CAD 0, so there is no charge for keeping the account. Spending abroad costs nothing either, with a currency conversion fee of 0%. KOHO lists no hidden fees, no e-transfer fees and no ATM withdrawal fees.
What interest does KOHO pay on savings?+
The headline rate is 2% and the rate type is variable, so the figure can move with the wider market. Access is on demand at any time, with free, unlimited Interac e-Transfers. The minimum deposit is CAD 0, and there are no transaction or inactivity fees.
How does the credit line work and what does it cost?+
KOHO offers personal, credit line and bnpl borrowing of CAD 1,000 to CAD 15,000 at an APR of 19.9% to 34.9%. The check is soft prequal, so an offer can be seen without a hard check first. Funds deposited into your bank account the same business day. Home improvement is a stated use case.
Who can open a KOHO account?+
Opening is open to KOHO members living in a set of Canadian provinces, and applicants must supply government ID plus bank account information so income can be checked. The account runs through KOHO Financial Inc., which is registered in Canada.
What card do I get and what does it run on?+
The account issues a prepaid card on the mastercard network, and the credit side of the app is marked as credit. Card features listed include travel, a virtual card and crypto. Virtual card instant issuance is included among the account perks.
What rewards does spending earn?+
Rewards are paid as cashback, with a cashback rate of 5% on debit purchases. Cashback is the most common rewards type on the site at 45.9%, so this ranks well against peers. Credit building tools also sit inside the same app.
How do I get help if something goes wrong?+
Support runs on chat and help centre: live chat and a help centre. Help centres are the most common channel on the site at 79.6%, while phone appears for 74.4% of brands. KOHO's listed channels exclude that phone option, which matters if a card is blocked while abroad.
What are KOHO's main weaknesses?+
The tightest limit is support, which runs on chat and help centre only. Borrowing sits with a broker, so approval and terms depend on partner lenders, and the 19.9% to 34.9% range can exceed the 15.5% site median. Residency is also limited to the provinces on its eligibility list.
Sources
- ca.linkedin.com/company/koho checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded
“founded in 2014 as a forward-thinking fintech company”
- koho.ca checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Annual fee, Card kind, Headquarters, Pricing model, Support channels
“KOHO Essential plan offered at $0/month”
- koho.ca/accounts checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Headline rate
“You can get the monthly Essential plan for free by depositing money into your KOHO account... 2% interest on your entire balance”
- koho.ca/save checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Access terms, Account kind, Minimum deposit, Rate type
“Access your money whenever you need it; Interac e-Transfer Free, Unlimited; Transaction fees $0; Account Inactivity fee $0”
- play.google.com/store/apps/details checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Cashback rate, Perks, Rewards rate, Rewards type
“Earn up to 5% unlimited cash back on debit purchases”
- koho.ca/accounts checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Card type, Features, Currency conversion fee, Monthly fee, Card network
“Your everyday prepaid Mastercard - Essential plan”
- koho.ca/legal checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Legal entity
“The KOHO Mastercard Prepaid card is issued by KOHO Financial Inc.”
- koho.ca/line-of-credit checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Loan amount, APR, Credit check, Eligibility, Funding time, Lender type, Loan types, Use cases
“Apply to get between $1,000-$15,000 with interest rates as low as 19.9%”
Compiled from 8 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Free ATM withdrawals, Protection.
KOHO Financial
Fee-free Canadian spending, on-demand saving and credit building in one app.