KOHO

Canada-based KOHO offers banking services to individuals via a web portal and a mobile app. The company provides its products in partnership with Peoples Trust.

cThe company enables customers to set up checking accounts and offers a fixed interest rate of 1.2% on all deposits, which include both spending and savings accounts and does not charge monthly account fees. The app also provides instant cashback rewards of 0.5% on every purchase made via a customer’s KOHO account. The app provides automated savings options, through which the app automatically rounds up purchases made via its card and saves it. In addition, the app also enables users to set specific savings goals for specific purposes and track progress made towards achieving these goals. Additionally, the app also provides Personal Finance Management (PFM) tools that help users track and plan their spending habits.

Moreover, the company also provides a credit building facility to its customers which it launched in February 2021, priced at CAD 7 per month, to help customers improve their credit scores. The company does this by providing a line of credit to its customers and directly taking back a proportion of this every month. Following this, the company reports it as repayment to credit bureaus on a monthly basis.

The company offers its products free of charge and offers both individual and joint accounts. Additionally, the company also offers a ‘premium’ account, which is priced at CAD 9 per month or CAD 84 per annum. Additional features in the premium account include a higher percentage of cashback rewards (2%), personal financial coaching facilities, and price matching. Moreover, the company also offers limited edition metal cards priced at CAD 159, which customers are able to purchase via the app.

Key customers and partnerships

As of December 2023, the company served over a million users.

Funding and financials

In February 2022, the company raised CAD 210 million (~USD 165 million) in Series D funding, led by Eldridge. Additionally, it secured CAD 86 million (~USD 63.3 million) in an all-equity Series D extension round in December 2023. It had earmarked the newly acquired funds to fuel expansion and develop new products, including increased credit options, in-app bill splitting, and access to government benefits.