KOHO is a full-service bank account with zero fees aimed at millennials, seeking an alternative from a traditional bank. KOHO members get a reloadable prepaid Visa card that supports Apple Pay to use for everyday store and online transactions. Spending with KOHO also means 0.5% cash back on all purchases.
Today, KOHO has announced it is now piloting an Early Payroll feature for Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients, allowing them to access $100 free ahead of scheduled paydays.
KOHO says it will not charge fees or interest on the $100 upfront (available 3 days before your scheduled CERB payment), as it “hopes this will provide a cushion that many Canadians could use right now to help pay bills and necessary expenses, and avoid harmful loan alternatives.”
Back in March, KOHO partnered with the Canada Revenue Agency to allow Canadians to receive CERB payments via the KOHO app.
“The economic impact of COVID was not equally distributed,” said Daniel Eberhard, Founder and CEO of KOHO, in an issued statement to iPhone in Canada. “A lot of lower and middle income Canadians are vulnerable right now. The KOHO team did an amazing job putting this together so quickly. We hope it helps.”
According to 2016 data from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, an average $300 payday loan would see fees of $63, or 21%. KOHO says its money upfront does not have any fees, as it intends to help relieve cash flow pressure on those affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.
KOHO says this new Early Payroll feature is now available in the latest version of the KOHO app. Users will see $100 made available three days ahead of their scheduled CERB payment. Once a CERB payment is deposited by the CRA, $100 will automatically be removed from a user’s KOHO account.
Click here to sign up for KOHO and get an additional 1% cash back for 90 days on everyday spending.
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