“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.