KOHO Review 2026: Cash Back, Credit Building, and Crypto

KOHO has grown from a niche prepaid card into one of the most widely used financial apps in Canada, now serving over 1 million users. What started as a simple no-fee spending card has expanded into a genuine ecosystem: tiered cash back, competitive interest on your balance, an optional credit-building feature, and, as of 2026, in-app cryptocurrency trading.

This KOHO review covers how it works, what each plan costs, how the Credit Building feature functions, how KOHO Crypto stacks up, and who the app makes the most sense for.

KOHO Review Summary

Product type	Reloadable prepaid Mastercard/Visa with spending and savings account
Founded	2017
Users	1 million+
Monthly fee	Free (Essential); $12/mo (Extra); $14.75/mo (Everything)
Cash back	1% to 2% base, plus bonus rates at partner merchants
Interest on balance	2% to 3.5%, depending on plan
Credit Building	Optional add-on, $10/month, reports to Equifax
Crypto trading	Yes, via Ndax partnership
Credit check required	No
Deposit protection	Held in trust at Peoples Trust Company, CDIC insured up to $100,000
Sign-up bonus	$40 with promo code GETCASH
Available in Quebec	Yes, with French support

New users can claim a $40 welcome bonus using promo code GETCASH after making a first purchase of $20 or more within 30 days of signing up.

What Is KOHO?

KOHO is a Canadian fintech company, founded in 2017, offering a reloadable prepaid Mastercard or Visa paired with a spending account, savings features, and, more recently, cryptocurrency trading.

Because it’s a prepaid product rather than a credit card, there’s no credit check required to sign up, and you can only spend what you’ve already loaded onto the account, eliminating any risk of overspending or accumulating interest-bearing debt on everyday purchases.

KOHO is backed by investors including Portag3, Drive Capital, and Power Corporation-affiliated entities, and funds held in KOHO accounts are kept in trust at Peoples Trust Company, a CDIC-member institution, insuring your balance up to $100,000.

KOHO Plans Compared

KOHO offers three account tiers, each unlocking progressively higher cash back and interest in exchange for a monthly fee.

	Essential	Extra	Everything
Monthly fee	Free*	$12/mo	$14.75/mo
Cash back	1% (groceries, transportation, food/drink)	1.5% (same categories)	2% (same categories) + 0.5% on everything else
Interest on balance	2%	2.5%	Up to 3.5%
Foreign transaction fee	Standard applies	Reduced/waived	Waived

If your monthly spending on groceries, transportation, and food and drink is high enough, the extra cash back on the Extra or Everything plans can offset, or exceed, the monthly fee.

Run your last two or three months of spending in these categories against the fee difference before committing to a paid tier. The free* KOHO Essential plan works well for most people.

Cash Back and Interest

KOHO’s base cash back categories are groceries, transportation, and food and drink, earning 1% on the free Essential plan, 1.5% on Extra, and 2% on Everything (plus an additional 0.5% on all other purchases at the top tier).

Beyond these base rates, KOHO also offers bonus cash back of up to 5% at a network of partner merchants.

Interest is paid on your entire balance, not just a separate “savings” pocket, ranging from 2% on Essential up to 3.5% on the Everything plan, among the more competitive rates available on a everyday spending account in Canada.

How KOHO Credit Building Works

KOHO’s Credit Building feature is one of its most distinctive offerings: a low-cost way to establish or rebuild credit history without taking on interest-bearing debt.

• Cost: $5 to $10 per month
• How it works: rather than lending you new money to spend, KOHO manages a small installment account on your behalf and reports your on-time monthly payment as a positive tradeline
• Bureau reporting: Equifax only.
• Typical results: KOHO cites an average credit score increase of roughly 31 points within about 4 months, based on users who started with lower scores; individual results vary and this is not guaranteed
• Extras: in-app credit score tracking and access to financial coaching
• Flexibility: the feature can be cancelled at any time with no long-term commitment

KOHO Crypto

KOHO Crypto lets eligible KOHO Personal account holders buy and sell a small selection of cryptocurrencies directly from their existing Spendable balance, without opening a separate exchange account or app.

Coins offered	Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, SUI, more being added
Trading fees	0.5% (Everything plan) to 1% (Essential/Extra)
FX fees on crypto	None; all coins paired directly with CAD
Funding source	Your existing KOHO balance
Minimum trade	$1
Outbound transfers	Not currently supported

Note: no separate sign-up, no separate funding step, and no FX fees since all coins are paired directly with CAD. The trade-off is a limited coin selection compared to dedicated crypto exchanges, and the current inability to transfer crypto out of KOHO to an external wallet.

Is KOHO Safe?

Yes. KOHO itself is not a bank, but funds held in KOHO accounts are kept in trust at Peoples Trust Company, a CDIC-member institution, insuring your balance up to $100,000. KOHO Crypto is powered by Ndax, a CIRO-registered crypto trading platform and CIPF member, though CIPF protection does not extend to the crypto holdings themselves.

KOHO: Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
No credit check required; anyone can sign up	No cheques
No monthly fee on the Essential plan	Credit Building reports to Equifax only
Real cash back (1-2% base, higher at select partners) unlike most prepaid cards	Crypto trading is limited to a small coin selection and doesn’t currently support withdrawing crypto out of the app
Competitive interest on your entire balance (up to 3.5%)	Highest cash back categories and interest rates require a paid plan
Optional Credit Building add-on gives a low-cost path to establishing credit history
Integrated crypto trading with no separate app or account needed
Funds insured up to $100,000 through Peoples Trust Company (CDIC member)
$40 welcome bonus and a generous refer-a-friend program (up to $1,000)
Available in Quebec with French-language support
Real-time budgeting and spending insights built into the app

How to Sign Up and Claim the Welcome Bonus

• Sign up here
• Enter promo code GETCASH during sign-up if it isn’t already pre-populated
• Load funds onto your account, since it’s a prepaid card
• Make a first purchase of $20 or more within 30 days using your virtual or physical card
• Receive your $40 bonus, typically credited within a few days

Who Is KOHO Best For?

KOHO works particularly well for Canadians who want a straightforward, no-credit-check way to manage everyday spending, earn real cash back, and access budgeting tools, all without committing to a traditional bank account.

It’s also a strong option for newcomers to Canada, students, or anyone rebuilding credit, thanks to the low-cost Credit Building add-on and the absence of any credit check to get started.

It’s less suited for: anyone who needs cheques, joint accounts, overdraft protection, or a full suite of traditional banking products. Active crypto traders will also likely find KOHO Crypto’s coin selection and lack of external transfers too limiting compared to a dedicated exchange.