KOHO and Moka are financial technology companies designed to give Canadians more options when saving money, investing, or earning cash back.
Specifically, KOHO is a cash back app and prepaid card that rewards you on every purchase. More recently, it also introduced a high-interest savings account.
The Moka app, on the other hand, is a micro-investing app you can use to invest your spare change. It also recently introduced cashback, debt management, and financial coaching services.
This KOHO vs. Moka comparison covers what you need to know.
KOHO vs. Moka Compared
KOHO | MOKA | |
Cashback | Up to 5% | Depends on partner retailers like Ubereats, Indigo, etc |
Saving interest | Available | Unavailable |
Investing | Unavailable | Invests in ETF Portfolios |
Financial Advice | Yes, for premium members | Yes, for premium members |
Safety | Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation protection up to $100,000 | Insured by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) |
Debt management | No | Yes |
Improve credit score | Yes | No |
Free access | Yes | No |
Subscription fee | $0 to $19/month | Starts at $4.99 |
KOHO Overview
KOHO was launched in 2017 and offers its prepaid cards in partnership with Peoples Trust and Mastercard. It is backed by large financial companies like Portage3, Power Group, and Drive Capital.
KOHO’s financial products and services lineup include:
Cashback Prepaid Cards: KOHO’s prepaid cards are offered as three types of accounts:
- KOHO Easy
- KOHO Essential
- KOHO Extra (Premium)
The standard KOHO Easy account is free and offers 1% cashback on groceries and transportation purchases. The cash back rate is up to 5% when you shop at KOHO partners.
After loading your card with cash, you can use it to make payments wherever Mastercard is accepted (both online and in-store). The card can be reloaded easily using Interac e-Transfer or direct deposit.
KOHO Mastercard prepaid cards also support unlimited and free bill payments and Interac e-Transfer transactions. You also earn interest on your balance.
Lastly, KOHO’s budgeting app can track your income/expenses and set up automatic savings by rounding up your purchases.
For even more cashback rewards (up to 2% in three categories and 5% at partners) and no FX fees, you can upgrade to a paid account, such as KOHO Essential and KOHO Extra.
KOHO Extra costs $84 annually or $9 monthly, and new users get a free 30-day trial period.
KOHO Earn Interest: With both free and paid KOHO accounts, you earn interest on your entire balance.
KOHO Credit Building: If you struggle to increase your credit score, you can subscribe to an optional Credit Building service for $7 to $10 per month.
The monthly fee payments are reported to the credit bureaus, which can help grow your credit score after some months.
Easily view your credit score in-app to see how you are progressing.
Learn more about how KOHO works.
Moka Overview
The Moka app was formerly known as Mylo.
It was founded in 2017 and was recently acquired by Mogo, a Canadian financial technology company traded on the TSX and Nasdaq.
Moka’s core offerings include the following:
Automated Investing: After connecting your bank account and cards (debit and/or credit) to Moka, it will automatically round up your purchases and invest the difference in a diversified ETF portfolio.
Your investments are held in a non-registered or registered account (e.g. TFSA and RRSP).
The fee to use this service is $4.99 per month.
Cashback Rewards: Moka users can access exclusive cashback deals from various brands and retailers. For example, as of this writing, offers include:
- Apple Music: $9.16 cash back
- UberEats: 22.5% cash back
- Warby Parker: 7.5% cash back
- Motley Fool: $37.50 cash back
- Indigo: 5% cash back and more
In addition to its investing service, Moka offers a paid subscription service via Moka 360 that includes:
Debt Management: They help you develop a personalized plan to pay off debt faster. This includes helping you pay your credit balance with roundups and recurring deposits.
Perks: With this service, you earn even more cashback at select partners and brands.
Financial Advice: Get advice from a financial coach. Simply ask questions through the app, and a financial expert will get back to you.
Moka 360 costs $15 per month. Learn more about Moka in this review.
Open a Moka account ($5 bonus after linking your bank account).
KOHO vs. Moka
Cashback: The free KOHO account gets you 1% cashback on groceries and transportation. If you upgrade to KOHO Extra, this increases up to 2% on some purchases.
With Moka, the cashback offers vary depending on what partner retailers like UberEats, Footlocker, or Indigo are offering at any one time. If you don’t shop at these stores, you won’t be able to benefit.
Savings Interest: KOHO Easy users earn interest on every dollar. Moka does not currently offer a savings account.
Investing: Moka is one of two micro-investing apps in Canada. The other is Wealthsimple Invest. KOHO does not invest your money in an ETF portfolio.
Financial Advice: Both Moka and KOHO offer financial coaching when you subscribe to Moka 360 or KOHO Premium.
Safety: Your deposits in KOHO are eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation protection up to $100,000. The funds you invest in through Moka are insured by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
Fees: A regular KOHO account is free and includes all the main benefits (cashback, early payroll, and savings interest). KOHO Extra costs $84/year or $9/month, and KOHO Everything costs $19 monthly.
A regular Moka account costs $4.99/month. Moka 360 is a $15/month subscription service.
Conclusion
Overall, Moka and KOHO can be useful additions to your current personal finance setup.
Moka makes it easy to invest effortlessly, even when you can’t afford to set aside a lot of money. And, with the goal-setting option, you can save towards specific financial goals.
For cash or debit purchases, the KOHO prepaid Mastercard pays cash back, and unused balances earn interest. You can also consider the free Neo Money card for higher cash back rates on debit purchases.
Neo Money Account
Unlimited 5% average cash back
No monthly fees + $20 bonus
2.25% non-promo interest rate paid on balance
Unlimited free transactions
Get a Mastercard for payments online and ATMs
Access to a no-annual-fee credit card
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