Without a healthy credit profile, you may find it difficult to secure any number of affordable credit and loan products, including mortgages and car loans. For this reason, making an effort to ensure your credit is strong is crucial, but it can be difficult to do so without the proper tools.
That’s where the KOHO Credit Building Program comes in. This handy tool makes credit building as easy as possible and affordable.
Let’s dig deeper to see how this convenient credit building program can help you improve your credit history.
KOHO is a Toronto-based fintech company that offers banking services and products, including their mobile app and prepaid credit cards. The company is not a bank itself, but rather has partnered with Peoples Trust to provide consumers with secure banking products that can be used across the globe.
The company was developed with the goal of providing Canadians with convenient financial products. More importantly, KOHO’s mission is to help Canadians establish and build healthy credit that will open the door to more financial products in the future.
KOHO currently offers three full-service accounts.
The Easy Account is KOHO’s original account, there is no monthly or yearly fee for this account. Account holders can earn interest on their account balance and use their prepaid credit card to make purchases and earn cash back rewards.
The Essential Account is one level up from the Easy Account. Users will benefit from all the same perks of the Easy Account while earning higher cash back rates.
The Premium Account is KOHO’s most expensive account, but it also comes with the most perks.
KOHO offers a credit building service called Credit Building. New users can register for this credit building subscription service for $7 or $10 a month, depending on the account they have.
| Cost | – KOHO Easy: $10/ month – KOHO Essantial: $7/month – KOHO Premium: $7/month |
| Eligibility | – Canadian resident – Age of majority in your province |
| Credit check? | Yes (soft check, no effect to score) |
| Availability | Across Canada |
| Program length | – 6 months – Can reapply after 6 months |
| Special Features | – Helps build credit – Free credit score |
Credit Building by KOHO is a credit-building line of credit. Users need to make on-time payments for 6-months to help build their credit history. The program can be cancelled at any time, users do not need to complete the full 6-months if they do not want to.
All you have to do is make sure that there is enough money in your account every month to cover the subscription fee (KOHO will automatically withdraw this amount each month).
Each payment made will be reported to one of the credit bureaus in Canada, which is how you can work toward building good credit. Timely bill payments have one of the biggest impacts on credit.
Upon registering for the program, KOHO will conduct a “soft inquiry” of your credit report, which does not affect your credit score.
You can keep tabs on any changes in your credit score using the KOHO mobile app, where you can see your credit score for free. And once the initial 6-month period is over you can reapply for the program if you want to continue to work on improving your credit.
The program costs $7 or $10 per month. There are no other costs involved, you simply need to make sure you have the money in your account every month so that KOHO can withdraw your payment and report it to a credit bureau.
There are several perks to using the KOHO Credit Building Program to help you rebuild your credit scores:
Before you apply for a KOHO card and the Credit Building Program, there are a few drawbacks to consider:
Applying for the KOHO Credit Building Program is easy. Just follow these steps:
As long as you have enough money in your account every month for the subscription fee, there’s nothing left for you to do. KOHO will take care of the rest in the background to help you rebuild your credit score.
Having a healthy credit profile is an important part of your credit life. And while building up a good credit score can be challenging without some help and know-how, the KOHO Credit Building Program makes the entire process incredibly easy. With minimal effort, you can see a difference in your credit score in just 6 months.
Lisa has been working as a personal finance writer for more than a decade, creating unique content that helps to educate Canadian consumers in the realms of real estate, mortgages, investing and financial health. For years, she held her real estate license in Toronto, Ontario before giving it up to pursue writing within this realm and related niches. Lisa is very serious about smart money management and helping others do the same.
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