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The KOHO Prepaid Mastercard Essential Plan is a no-fee prepaid card that pays interest on your balance and cash back on everyday spending. Because it’s prepaid rather than a credit card, there’s no credit check, and you can only spend what you’ve loaded onto it.
On the Essential plan, you earn 1% unlimited cash back on groceries, eating and drinking, and transportation, plus 2% interest on your balance, calculated daily and paid monthly.
KOHO also offers two paid tiers, Extra and Everything, with higher cash back and interest rates, but the Essential plan covers the basics at no monthly cost.
Who This Card Makes Sense For
This card is a good fit if you:
- Want to avoid a credit check and build spending discipline with a prepaid balance
- Spend regularly on groceries, dining, or transportation, where cash back applies
- Want a free account that also pays interest on your balance
- Are comfortable managing your account entirely through an app
It’s a weaker fit if you:
- Travel internationally often, since the Essential plan doesn’t waive foreign transaction fees the way the paid plans do
- Want to build credit history, since a prepaid card doesn’t report to credit bureaus the way a credit card does
- Would rather have a single flat cash back rate on all purchases instead of specific categories
Eligibility and Documents Needed
KOHO requires you to be a Canadian resident and at least 18 years old, or 19 in some provinces. You’ll need a government-issued ID, a phone number, and an email address to open an account. There’s no credit check and no minimum income requirement.
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To keep the Essential plan free, KOHO asks you to set up direct deposit or maintain at least $1,000 in monthly deposits to the account.
How to Apply
KOHO says opening an account takes about 5 minutes through its app or website. Since it’s a prepaid account rather than a credit product, approval is instant and doesn’t depend on a credit check.
Fees and Conditions
The numbers that matter most on the Essential plan:
- Monthly fee: $0 (with direct deposit or $1,000+ in monthly deposits)
- Cash back: 1% unlimited on groceries, eating and drinking, and transportation
- Interest on balance: 2%, calculated daily, paid monthly
- Out-of-network ATM withdrawals: $2 to $3
Since this is a prepaid card, there’s no interest charged on spending — you can only spend the balance you’ve loaded, so there’s no revolving debt or purchase interest rate to worry about. The tradeoff is that it also doesn’t help build a credit history.
KOHO’s paid plans offer more: the Extra plan ($12/month) bumps cash back to 1.5% and interest to 2.5%, with no foreign transaction fees, while the Everything plan ($14.75/month) goes up to 2% cash back and 3.5% interest, also with no foreign transaction fees. The Essential plan doesn’t waive foreign transaction fees the way those two do.
Beyond the core account, KOHO includes:
- Mastercard Zero Liability protection against unauthorized transactions
- Free credit score monitoring
- Free e-Transfers
- Real-time spending tracking and card lock/unlock through the app
- An optional Cover add-on with a $250 cash advance option
KOHO estimates the average user gets around $100 in value annually from cash back and interest combined, though actual savings depend on your own spending habits and balance.
Reloading the card is free, and KOHO supports several funding methods: Interac e-Transfer, loading from another debit card, direct deposit of your paycheque, or cash deposits at Canada Post outlets. That flexibility matters if you don’t want to link a traditional bank account at all, since KOHO can function as your primary spending account rather than just a secondary card.
Because everything runs through the app, you get real-time notifications on every transaction, which makes it easier to track spending by category without waiting for a monthly statement. That visibility is part of what KOHO positions as a budgeting tool as much as a payment card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the KOHO Prepaid Mastercard a credit card?
No. It’s a prepaid card, so you spend only what you’ve loaded onto it. There’s no credit check and no interest charged on spending.
Does this card charge foreign transaction fees?
The Essential plan doesn’t waive foreign transaction fees the way KOHO’s paid Extra and Everything plans do. Check current terms before travelling internationally with this plan.
How do I keep the Essential plan free?
Set up direct deposit to your KOHO account, or maintain at least $1,000 in monthly deposits.
Does using this card build my credit history?
No. As a prepaid card, it doesn’t report to credit bureaus the way a credit card does, though KOHO does offer free credit score monitoring as a separate feature.
What happens if I need cash from an out-of-network ATM?
Out-of-network ATM withdrawals cost $2 to $3, depending on the ATM.
