In the prepaid card space, KOHO offers a variety of prepaid Mastercards, with a few add-ons to get more out of your card.

If you want the best of what KOHO has to offer, you'll want to get the KOHO Everything Mastercard. It should be noted that getting the best of KOHO will cost you $14.75 per month.

But it will also reward you with one of the best savings account interest rates in Canada, cash back on purchases, and a cheap way to improve your credit.

Here's what it offers.

Earning cash back with the KOHO Everything Mastercard

At their core, KOHO cards are prepaid cash back cards. You load your KOHO card with money, and use it to pay for purchases.

While you're paying for those purchases, you'll also earn a slice back in the form of cash. Here are this KOHO cards earn rates:

• 2% cash back on groceries, restaurants, and transportation
• 0.5% cash back on all other purchases

Based on spending $2,000 per month, you're looking at an average return of 1.1% across all your purchases.

Your cash back gets added to your prepaid balance within a few days of making your purchase.

Benefits to the KOHO Everything Mastercard

KOHO has plenty of extra add-ons you can look at. Here's what the KOHO Everything Mastercard has available.

1. Earn interest on your prepaid balance

All KOHO cards act like a hybrid spend-savings account. If you get your paycheque deposited to your KOHO card, you'll unlock KOHO Earn Interest.

The interest you'll earn varies based on your KOHO card. With the KOHO Everything Mastercard, you'll get an unparalleled 3.5% interest on your balance. That makes for one of the best savings accounts you can get.

2. No credit checks required

We have a prepaid card, and as such, you won't be subject to any credit checks when you apply to get any KOHO prepaid card.

3. No foreign exchange fees

If you travel abroad, you'll be happy to hear you won't pay any extra fees when you make purchases that aren't in Canadian dollars.

That's a savings of 2.5% on all your foreign currency purchases.

4. Improve your credit with KOHO Credit Building

It may be a prepaid card, but you can still use a KOHO card to improve your credit score. With KOHO Credit Building, you can improve your score for a low monthly fee. KOHO essentially reports to 1 major bureau that you are making your payments on time, and in 6 months, you should start to see your score go up.

The typical cost is $10 per month. However, with the KOHO Everything Mastercard, it only costs $5 per month.

5. Send money abroad with KOHO International Money Transfer

Sending to money abroad is easy with KOHO. With KOHO International Money Transfer, you can send money to someone in over 190 countries, right from your KOHO balance.

3 things to think about with the KOHO Everything Mastercard

There are a few things you'll want to keep in mind with the KOHO Everything Mastercard.

1. Very high annual fee

On the surface, a $14.75 monthly fee doesn't seem too bad. But over a full year, that adds up to $177. That's a lot to pay for any credit card, let alone a prepaid card – most don't have any fee at all.

2. Low base earn rate

For a card with such a high fee, the base earn rate leaves much to be desired. Only earning 0.5% cash back is in line with many no fee cards.

3. Does not improve your credit

Unless you pay extra for KOHO Credit Building, a prepaid card won't improve your credit score. As you're spending your own money, prepaid cards aren't credit products and have no bearing on your credit score.

Comparison to the KOHO Extra Mastercard

KOHO offers 4 different prepaid cards. Here's how it compares to one of them, the KOHO Extra Mastercard.

Here's how they stack up.

Despite the difference in annual fees, the rewards you'll earn stay the same. Both cards also offer no foreign exchange fees.

So it really comes down to the interest rate you can earn on your balance – it's much higher with the KOHO Everything Mastercard. Is that worth the extra annual fee to you? To offset the extra $144 in annual fee, you'd have to maintain a balance of $7,200 every day. And that doesn't include any taxes you may have to pay on the interest you earned either.

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FAQ

What does the KOHO Everything Mastercard offer for rewards?

The KOHO Everything Mastercard is a cash back prepaid card that offers the following for rewards:

• 2% cash back on groceries, restaurants, and transportation
• 0.5% cash back on all other purchases

Your cash back gets added to your prepaid balance within a few days of making a purchase.

What special features does the KOHO Everything Mastercard come with?

The KOHO Everything Mastercard comes with a few special features. They include:

• earning 3.5% interest on your prepaid balance,
• the card charges no foreign exchange fees, and
• the ability to improve your credit score with KOHO Credit Building.

What are the annual fee and income requirements of the KOHO Everything Mastercard?

The KOHO Everything Mastercard has a monthly fee of $14.75 ($177 per year) and has no income requirements.