KOHO Review: The Money App That Will Change How You Bank

Hey there, savvy saver! Are you as tired of big banks and their sneaky fees as I am? If so, listen up. I‘ve been using KOHO for the past year and I‘m honestly obsessed. This mighty little app has transformed the way I spend, save and earn rewards. 🙌

In this in-depth KOHO review, I‘ll share everything you need to know about this gamechanger of an account. No financial jargon, no nonsense – just the straight goods on how KOHO can help you take control of your money and achieve your goals faster. Let‘s dive in!

🔎 What is KOHO and Why Should You Care?

In a nutshell, KOHO is an online spending and savings account that‘s custom-built for Canadians. It comes with a smart Visa card that earns you instant cash back on all your purchases, plus an array of tools to help you budget, save and track your money like a boss.

Unlike your typical bank account, KOHO doesn‘t charge monthly fees, drown you in paperwork, or make you jump through hoops to access your own money. It‘s delightfully digital, user-friendly and dare I say, even fun to use?

Since launching in 2017, KOHO has exploded in popularity. It now boasts over 1,000,000 users (!!), has earned glowing reviews from tech and finance experts, and has processed over $6 billion in transactions. Not too shabby, eh?

But impressive stats aside, what really sets KOHO apart is its mission to help Canadians improve their financial health and literacy. The company was founded by Daniel Eberhard, who saw firsthand how predatory banking practices and lack of financial education can hold people back. With KOHO, he set out to create a more inclusive, empowering and rewarding way to manage money.

So whether you‘re saving up for a big goal, struggling to stick to a budget, or just looking to earn a little extra cash back, KOHO has your back. It‘s like having a money coach, advocate and cheerleader all in one sleek little app.

🌟 How KOHO Works: The Basics

Alright, let‘s get into the nitty gritty of how KOHO actually works. Here‘s a quick rundown:

  1. Sign up for an account: Registering for KOHO is a breeze and takes less than 5 minutes. Just head to KOHO.ca or download the app, enter your personal details, and choose your account type. The basic KOHO Personal account is totally free, while KOHO Premium comes with extra perks for a small monthly fee (more on that later).

  2. Load your account: Once you‘re signed up, you can add money to your KOHO card in a few ways. You can set up direct deposit to funnel part of your paycheck straight into KOHO, transfer funds from another bank account, or even deposit cash at a Canada Post location. Easy peasy.

  3. Start spending and saving: Your KOHO card works just like a regular debit card, so you can use it to make purchases online or in-store wherever Visa is accepted. But here‘s the game-changing part – every time you spend, you‘ll earn instant cash back! With the KOHO Personal account, you get 1% cash back on groceries, bills and services. That means every time you buy food, pay a utility bill, fill up your car or get your hair cut, you‘re putting money back in your pocket. Amazing, right?

But KOHO isn‘t just about spending – it‘s also designed to help you save effortlessly. The app comes with handy features like:

  • Goals: Set savings goals for anything from a rainy day fund to a dream vacation, and track your progress in real-time.

  • RoundUps: Every time you make a purchase, KOHO will round up the amount to the nearest $1, $2, $5 or $10 and tuck the spare change into your savings. It‘s like a digital piggy bank!

  • Automated savings: Set up recurring transfers from your spending account to your savings goals to grow your money on autopilot.

The best part? All the money you save in KOHO earns a sweet 1.2% interest rate, which is much higher than most traditional savings accounts. Cha-ching!

🏆 KOHO‘s Standout Features

Now that you‘ve got the gist of how KOHO works, let‘s highlight some of its most impressive and unique features:

💸 Earn Extra Cash Back With PowerUps

On top of the standard 1% cash back rate, KOHO lets you supercharge your earnings with PowerUps. These are limited-time bonus offers that can boost your cash back by up to 10% when you shop with participating KOHO partners.

Some recent PowerUp examples:

  • 5% cash back on all purchases at Indigo (my fave book store!)
  • 3% cash back on Uber Eats orders over $25
  • 6% cash back on groceries at select stores
  • 7% cash back on self-care services like massages and facials

The KOHO app makes it ridiculously easy to find and activate PowerUps – they‘re all listed in one place and you can filter by category. I love checking the offers before I shop to see where I can score bonus rewards. It‘s like a treasure hunt for your wallet!

🌿 Get Your Paycheck Up to 3 Days Faster

If you‘re tired of waiting anxiously for your paycheck to clear, KOHO has your back. When you set up direct deposit, KOHO will deposit your funds into your account up to 3 days sooner than your regular payday. No extra fees, no catch – just your hard-earned money in your hands faster.

This feature has been an absolute game-changer for me. Instead of stressing about cash flow and living paycheck to paycheck, I now have a bit of a buffer. I can take care of bills sooner, treat myself to a mid-week pick-me-up, or just breathe easier knowing I‘m not in the red.

📈 Build Your Credit History

One of KOHO‘s most unique and valuable features is its Credit Building tool. For a small $7/month fee, KOHO will lend you $500 in the form of a 1-year term loan. By making regular, on-time payments every month, you can build a positive credit history that will bump up your overall credit score.

This is HUGE if you‘re new to credit or looking to repair past mishaps. With traditional credit cards or loans, it can be tricky to get approved without a solid track record. But KOHO believes in giving everyone a fair shot. All you need to qualify is:

  • A verified KOHO account
  • Valid ID
  • To be the age of majority in your province

No credit check, no co-signer, no fuss. KOHO will automatically lend you the $500 (in addition to your regular account balance) and you just need to make sure you pay the amount back over 12 months. By the end, not only will you have a chunk of change saved up, but you‘ll also have boosted your credit score!

📊 Gain Valuable Insights With Financial Snapshots

Knowledge is power when it comes to your finances. It‘s one thing to track your spending and saving, but what about getting the bigger picture of your money story? That‘s where KOHO Insights comes in clutch.

Insights is a special feature in the KOHO app that generates a monthly summary of your spending and saving activity. It breaks down things like:

  • Your average daily/weekly/monthly spending
  • What categories you‘re spending the most on (e.g. groceries, bills, shopping, dining out)
  • How close you are to hitting your savings goals
  • How your current month compares to previous ones

Insights takes all the raw data and transforms it into beautiful charts and graphs that you can easily understand at a glance. It‘s like having a personal finance coach in your pocket, helping you spot patterns, celebrate wins and course-correct as needed.

For example, last month my Insights showed that I was spending way more than usual on takeout and Ubers. It was a good wake-up call to reel it in and redirect that money towards my savings goals instead. Thanks, KOHO!

📊 KOHO vs. Traditional Banking

Now, you might be thinking: "This all sounds great, but how does KOHO actually stack up against a regular ol‘ bank account?" Glad you asked! Let‘s break it down:

Feature KOHO Traditional Bank
Monthly account fee $0 for KOHO Personal, $9 for Premium $5 – $30
Unlimited transactions ✅ Sometimes
Foreign transaction fees 1.5% 2.5%
Minimum balance required Nope Sometimes
Interest rate on savings 1.2% 0.01% – 0.05%
Cash back on debit purchases 1% – 10% Nada
Automated savings tools ✅ Rarely
Early paycheck access Up to 3 days Nope
Juicy app & UI ✅ Hit or miss

As you can see, KOHO comes out on top in almost every category. It offers way more value and flexibility than traditional banking, without nickel and diming you at every turn.

Of course, no financial product is perfect. Some potential drawbacks to KOHO:

  • It doesn‘t have physical branches for in-person support (though the app makes it easy to manage most things yourself)
  • It‘s not as widely accepted as a regular Visa Debit or credit card
  • Some of the coolest features like Credit Building and PowerUps are only available with a paid KOHO Premium account

But unless you‘re a hardcore cash user or need to deposit large amounts regularly, I think KOHO is a no-brainer for most Canadians. It simplifies money management, puts extra cash back in your wallet, and dare I say, even makes banking fun?

🙌 What I Love About KOHO

I could honestly gush about KOHO all day, but I‘ll try to keep this brief. After using the app for the past year, here are a few of my absolute favorite things about it:

  1. It‘s made me a more mindful spender. Earning instant cash back on all my purchases is a small but mighty motivator to spend with intention. It‘s like getting a little reward every time I swipe my card, which makes me pause and consider if the purchase is really worth it. Plus, seeing my cash back balance grow in real-time is SO satisfying.

  2. It‘s automated my savings. Before KOHO, I was the WORST at saving money. I‘d always have the best intentions to put away X amount each month, but then life would happen and I‘d dip into my savings constantly. But with KOHO‘s Goals and RoundUps features, I‘m able to save on autopilot without even thinking about it. I‘ve already reached my emergency fund goal and am now working towards a dream post-pandemic vacation fund!

  3. It‘s taught me so much about my money habits. Like I mentioned earlier, KOHO Insights have been a game-changer for my financial awareness. Seeing a snapshot of my spending, saving and earning all in one place has helped me connect the dots between my daily choices and bigger financial picture. It‘s also helped me spot areas where I can cut back or optimize to reach my goals faster.

  4. It‘s just plain delightful to use. Seriously, who knew banking could be this fun? The KOHO app is hands down the most user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing money app I‘ve ever used. It‘s intuitive, visually engaging and even has a dash of humor. It makes managing my finances feel more like a game than a chore.

At the end of the day, KOHO has been a total empowerment tool for me. It‘s helped me take ownership of my financial story and craft a plan for the future I want. If that isn‘t worth celebrating, I don‘t know what is!

🚀 Join the KOHO Club

Phew, that was a lot of info! If you‘ve stuck with me this far, I‘m guessing you‘re as stoked about KOHO as I am. So what are you waiting for? There‘s no time like the present to start getting intentional about your money moves.

Here‘s what I suggest:

  1. Head to KOHO.ca and sign up for a FREE Personal account. You‘ve got nothing to lose and plenty to gain. It only takes a few minutes and you can start earning cash back right away.

  2. Set up direct deposit to get your hands on your paycheck faster and automate your saving and spending.

  3. Explore the app and start taking advantage of all the sweet features like PowerUps, RoundUps and Insights. The more you engage with it, the more you‘ll get out of it.

  4. Spread the word! I‘m a huge believer in sharing the wealth (literally and figuratively). If you have friends or family who could also benefit from KOHO‘s magic, don‘t be shy to refer them. You‘ll both get a bonus $20 when they sign up with your unique code.

KOHO has honestly been one of the best things to happen to my financial health in years. It‘s empowered me to spend smarter, save harder and stress less about money. And I want the same for you!

So go ahead and give KOHO a spin. I think you‘ll be amazed at how such a simple app can yield such big results. And if you have any questions or just want to geek out about personal finance together, slide into my DMs anytime. 😉

Here‘s to a new era of banking that actually works for us, not against us. KOHO for the win! 🙌

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