“Can a prepaid-card challenger graduate into a chartered Canadian bank by stacking embedded credit, remittances, and savings on top of a sponsor-bank-backed wallet?”
KOHO began in 2014 as a Canadian prepaid Mastercard + savings app aimed at offering a fee-free banking alternative, with funds safeguarded at Peoples Trust. Over time it layered on credit-building, Pay Later, and a Propel/Fora-powered line of credit, then expanded into cross-border remittances via NIUM. It is now pursuing a Schedule I bank charter to become a full-service Canadian challenger bank.
KOHO discloses Peoples Trust (sponsor bank) as its banking provider, with Peoples Trust as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
KOHO does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Peoples Trust.
KOHO processes payments through KOHO Mastercard Prepaid (self-operated, issued by KOHO Financial Inc.).
KOHO's cards are issued through KOHO Financial Inc. (self_issued, Mastercard license).
KOHO uses NIUM and Boxo for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 7 layers in KOHO's stack: Payments / PSP (KOHO Mastercard Prepaid (self-operated, issued by KOHO Financial Inc.)); Banking / BaaS (Peoples Trust (sponsor bank)); Card issuing (KOHO Financial Inc. (self_issued, Mastercard license)); Lending (KOHO Line of Credit ($1,000–$15,000, powered by Fora Credit), Pay Later (BNPL on past purchases, up to $1,000, 3/6/9 month plans) and Credit Building); Unified APIs (NIUM); Sponsor bank (Peoples Trust); FX & payouts (NIUM and Boxo).
KOHO is founded in 2014 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
KOHO has raised $547.9M in total (latest round: Series D).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against KOHO and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.