KOHO isn’t a bank: it is a prepaid Mastercard, spending account and credit-building tool whose customer funds are held at Peoples Trust Company. You spend with the prepaid card and earn cash back and interest on your balance. Because the card is prepaid, you can only spend what you load: there’s no overdraft and no NSF fee, since a KOHO balance can’t go negative.
The trade-offs are a few missing features: no cheque deposits yet and no registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, RESP). KOHO’s Mastercard does work at ATMs, and since a 2025 partnership with Canada Post, cash can be deposited at Canada Post locations. Other banks and fintechs are reviewed in the bank and fintech reviews.
KOHO at a Glance
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | KOHO |
| Parent | KOHO Financial Inc. |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Branches | 0 – KOHO is an app-based fintech, not a bank; cash deposits are accepted at Canada Post retail locations under a 2025 KOHO/Canada Post partnership |
| ATMs | None owned by KOHO; the KOHO Mastercard works at Cirrus-network ATMs, typically subject to a small out-of-network fee since KOHO does not operate its own ATMs (Extra and Everything plans each include one free international ATM withdrawal per month) |
| CDIC insured | No |
| Known for | Prepaid Mastercard spending account with cashback and savings interest, plus a no-hard-check Credit Building tradeline reported to Equifax; not a bank itself – funds are held at Peoples Trust Company, with CDIC protection through Peoples Trust available once the Earn Interest feature is switched on |
Source: koho.ca (Security, Essential, Extra, Everything, Core, Interac e-Transfer, Credit Building, Contact, and Learn pages) and the Bank of Canada's Retail Payment Activities Act registry / FINTRAC's Money Services Business Registry.
KOHO Plans and Fees
KOHO runs four plans. Core, a no-conditions free tier, is rolling out to users gradually, so it may not yet appear in your app.
| Account | Monthly Fee | Fee Waiver (Min Balance) | Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOHO Core | $0 | N/A – always free, no conditions (gradual rollout as of September 2026) | Unlimited spending; 2% interest, 1% cash back on groceries/transit/dining, Credit Building included free |
| KOHO Essential | $0 (waived) / $4 | Waived with a recurring direct deposit or $1,000+ in monthly deposits | Unlimited spending; 2% interest, 1% cash back on groceries/transit/dining, Credit Building $10/month add-on |
| KOHO Extra | $12 | N/A – flat monthly fee | Unlimited spending; 2.5% interest, 1.5% cash back on groceries/transit/dining (+0.25% other purchases), 0% FX fee, Credit Building $7/month |
| KOHO Everything | $14.75 | N/A – flat monthly fee | Unlimited spending; 3.5% interest, 2% cash back on groceries/transit/dining (+0.5% other purchases), 0% FX fee, Credit Building $5/month, enhanced joint-account rate |
| Feature | Core | Essential | Extra | Everything |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash back on groceries, transit and dining | Yes | Yes | Higher rate | Highest rate |
| Cash back on other purchases | No | No | Yes | Yes (higher) |
| Foreign exchange fee | Not published | About 1.5% | 0% | 0% |
| Instant outgoing e-Transfer | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Building | Included free | Paid add-on | Discounted add-on | Discounted add-on |
| Free international ATM withdrawal | No | No | One a month | One a month |
| Joint account | Available | Available | Available | Available, enhanced rate |
Standard Interac e-Transfers are free to send and receive on every plan ($5,000 per transaction (send), free on every plan; receive limits $10,000 per transaction, $10,000 per day, $40,000 per month (receive), free on every plan). The KOHO e-Transfer limit page has the details. Plan prices and add-on costs change, so KOHO’s app shows the current figures.
No NSF fees, but declines happen. $0 – KOHO is a prepaid card; transactions that would exceed the balance are declined rather than incurring an NSF fee, and no overdraft product is offered A pre-authorized payment the balance can’t cover is declined, and the merchant may retry or cancel, so recurring subscriptions can lapse if the balance runs low. How NSF fees work at banks that charge them is in overdraft vs NSF fees.
Interest by Plan
| Plan | Interest rate |
|---|---|
| Essential plan | 2.00% |
| Extra plan | 2.50% |
| Everything plan | 3.50% |
Rates checked October 5, 2026; KOHO’s Earn Interest page has the current rates, including Core’s.
On a $5,000 balance for a year, Essential’s rate earns about $100, Extra’s about $125 and Everything’s about $175, before plan fees.
Whether a paid plan pays for itself through interest depends on your balance: the extra interest has to exceed the plan’s yearly fee. For many people the higher cash back, the 0% foreign exchange fee and the discounted Credit Building are the bigger reasons to pay for Extra or Everything.
Credit Building
KOHO Credit Building is a no-interest tradeline that reports monthly payment history to Equifax, without a hard credit check or a loan or credit card application. It is included with Core and is a paid add-on on the other plans. How it works, what it costs and what it doesn’t do are covered in KOHO Credit Building.
Key Limitations
- No registered accounts: no TFSA, RRSP, FHSA or RESP.
- No cheque deposits yet: KOHO’s help centre lists cheque deposit as “coming soon”, and there’s no chequebook.
- Direct deposit uses Peoples Trust’s numbers: N/A – KOHO has no institution number of its own; direct deposit details use Peoples Trust Company's institution number (621), the CDIC-member trust company that holds KOHO customer funds.
- ATM and cash-deposit fees can apply: None owned by KOHO; the KOHO Mastercard works at Cirrus-network ATMs, typically subject to a small out-of-network fee since KOHO does not operate its own ATMs (Extra and Everything plans each include one free international ATM withdrawal per month)
- Deposit protection applies through Peoples Trust once Earn Interest is turned on; how CDIC coverage works is in CDIC deposit insurance.
Who KOHO Suits
Budgeting-focused spenders who want the prepaid model’s built-in spending cap.
Newcomers and people with thin or damaged credit files, through Credit Building.
Travellers on Extra or Everything, who avoid a foreign exchange fee on foreign-currency purchases.
Less suited to: people who need registered accounts or a chequebook, or who want KOHO as their only financial institution. KOHO against Wealthsimple Cash and Neo Financial is covered in KOHO vs Wealthsimple Cash vs Neo Financial, and the savings side against online banks such as EQ Bank in the best savings accounts in Canada.