Thursday, June 20, 2019

KOHO Prepaid Visa Introduction

Deal Link: www.koho.ca

KOHO is a reloadable prepaid Visa with smartphone App. You can download the App from their website. I think that KOHO is a smart way to save and spend. It looks like the STACK prepaid MasterCard we introduced before (see link: https://www.canadianrewards.net/2018/11/stack-prepaid-mastercard-get-1-year-of.html), but it also has some different benefits. I think KOHO is a very useful card for some people.

1) It is a prepaid card. So you can only spend the money you have in the KOHO account, just like using a debit card【Same as STACK】. The good thing is that because KOHO is not linked to any bank account, so it is even safer than a normal debit card.

2) KOHO is available to QC residents 【better than STACK】

3) KOHO has no account fee (including $0 ATM fee)【similar as STACK】.

The only KOHO service fee is inactivity fee: $1/month, starting month 13 after activation if your card has not been used for 90 days. You can add KOHO to your Amazon.ca account and buy $0.15 e-gift card every 90 days to avoid this charge.

4) KOHO charges 1.5% foreign exchange fee. It is better than normal Canadian debit cards/credit cards【STACK charges 0% on this】

5) You can add funds to your KOHO account via Interac e-transfer or payroll direct deposit.

6) You can also transfer funds out of your KOHO account via FREE Interac e-transfer. No minimum requirement for that.

7) You can earn 0.5% cashback on every card purchase. It is better than normal debit card and STACK card.

8) You can use KOHO to pay bills or you can set up the pre-authorized debit for recurring bill payments. PAD information: Transit - 16001; Institution - 621; Account# - 12 account # 【better than STACK】

9) You can link KOHO to your Paypal account as a credit card or a bank account to either send or receive funds【better than STACK】

10) You can transfer funds to other KOHO user (Free & Instant) 【same as STACK】

11) KOHO's fund is managed by People's Trust, but no CDIC insurance【same as STACK】

12) KOHO can provide a virtual card for online purchase, which is quite safe. You can use it before the physical card arrives in mail【better than STACK】

13) KOHO can provide targeted offer to its user in the App【same as STACK】, for example:

14) You can lock the card in the app.

15) KOHO doesn’t charge non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees. Instead, you’ll get a friendly notification if there aren't enough funds to fulfill a transaction. Or, if you have money tucked away in a Savings Goal, the app will pull from there.

16) Round up for savings【better than STACK】

17) KOHO will provide support on joint account and Apple Pay soon.

From my point of view, KOHO prepaid Visa is very user friendly and I love it a lot. Hope you will love it too!

Updated on Feb 8, 2019: Free KOHO Joint Accounts have arrived. You can now open a KOHO account with anyone (just one) you want. Both people need to have a KOHO account for this.

Updated on Apr 29, 2019: Now you can pay your credit card bills from your KOHO account!

Updated on May 16, 2019: You can earn 4.5% cash back when you pay for your foodora orders with your KOHO card. No promo code required. And KOHO card will be upgraded to a metal card in summer 2019 (you can join the metal card waitlist at their web page).

Updated on Jun 6, 2019: KOHO has launched KOHO Premium, which you can sign up for in-app.

With KOHO Premium, you can get:
  • 2% cash back on eating & drinking, groceries and transportation, and 0.5% on all other categories
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • One free international ATM transaction each month
  • Higher limits on ATM withdrawals and account balances
  • Price matching
  • Access to certified financial coach
There is a 30-day FREE trail on Premium.  After that, the monthly plan fee is $9/month and the annual plan fee is $84/year. If you are interested in KOHO Premium, you can always try it for free (you can cancel KOHO Premium anytime during the 30-day trial).

Updated on Jun 27, 2019: There's a new cashback rewards program at KOHO that will go into effect the week of July 15th. You can get up to 12.5% cash back with this new rewards program. How does the new program work? There are 2 components of rewards:

1) Referrals - refer pals to KOHO and earn extra cash:
  • You and the friend you refer each earn 1% extra PowerUps on every purchase for 90 days when they register and make their first transaction
  • 90 days begins as soon as they register
  • Refer up to 10 people => So, up to 10% of referral cash back

 2) Payroll Direct - get all/ part of your paycheque put into KOHO
  • Earn 0.5% extra PowerUps on every purchase for 90 days 
  • There's a minimum deposit of $500 
  • If you stop Payroll Direct before 90 days, your extra PowerUps will pause

When will you see the PowerUps? This cash will be added to your existing PowerUps, which are deposited into your account 2-3 business days after each transaction.

If you don't have a referral code, please see the comments section below to find a valid KOHO referral code. Thanks.

BTW, If anyone wants to leave his/her KOHO referral code below, please use the following format ONLY: "My KOHO referral is: *******. Thanks." Other format will be deleted.