Koho Extra Account: Prepaid Going Premium?

Canada’s prepaid credit card scene never fails to be interesting. 

Whereas this segment of the market was in its infancy a mere five years ago, there’s now an endless roster of competitors: from the PC Financial Money Account, to EQ Bank’s no-FX fee offering, to the once-great Mogo Prepaid Visa, and others, we have more options than ever before.

I was therefore interested to learn about the Koho Extra Account, and ponder about whether its “premium prepaid” nature will capture the imagination of younger consumers.

Let’s dive in.

Koho Extra Account Features

Just by looking at Koho’s promotional materials, it’s pretty clear which demographic they’re targeting.

The Koho Extra Account is available to all Koho cardholders who already possess the base-level (free) version of the product. That same product already earns 0.5% cash back on all transactions, and is accepted wherever Mastercard is. 

The Koho Extra Account is also aimed at millenial and Gen-Z customers who are familiar with the omnipresent subscription-based service model, hence the $9 monthly fee instead of the one-off annual fee that older-school products possess. 

This upgraded version of the Koho Card provides the following features:

• 2% cash back on restaurants, cafés, bars, groceries, and pre-authorized payments such as phone bills
• 2% interest on the sum of the entire balance loaded onto your card
• No foreign transaction fees
• One free international ATM withdrawal per month
• $3 off Koho’s Credit Building Coach ($7 per month instead of $10 per month)

The name of this upgraded account has also been changed from Koho Premium to Koho Extra, and it comes with the now-ubiquitous vertical card design so common in the age of the cell phone cardholder case.

Where’s the Value?

Frankly, I don’t understand the unique value proposition that this product is supposed to bring. A flat rate of 2% cash back on three categories, plus 0.5% cash back on every other purchase, is already matched by the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card.

In fact, the Tangerine card even lets you select the three categories you want to earn 2% cash back on, so you aren’t shackled to the restaurant, grocery, and pre-authorized payment categories.

Moreover, cash back is deposited directly into your Tangerine account rather than being provided as a statement credit, so you can use it for cash- or cash-like transactions.

If you meet the…