Joker Card vs KOHO — Which Is Right for You? (2026 Canada)

TL;DR — which one should you pick?

Despite both being "prepaid Mastercard" products on paper, Joker and KOHO are built for different jobs. Joker is a single-use card you buy at the till, hand to someone (or use yourself), and discard when empty — no app, no account, no follow-up. KOHO is closer to a digital chequing account: you sign up online, hold a balance, get an app with transaction history and budgeting, earn cashback, and optionally build credit. If you want to make one purchase or give a gift, Joker. If you want to manage ongoing spending without a traditional bank, KOHO.

Quick answer

Pick Joker for: gifts, sub-$500 one-shot purchases, anonymous online buys, teens not ready for an account. Pick KOHO for: day-to-day spending, earning cashback, no-fee account features, credit building.

What each product actually is

Joker Prepaid Card

A non-reloadable prepaid Mastercard or Visa sold at over 11,000 Canadian retail locations in fixed denominations from $25 to $500. Issued under licence from Peoples Trust Company. There is no app, no online account in the traditional sense — just a card with a 16-digit number, an expiry, and a CVV. You buy it, activate it, spend the balance, and you're done. The activation/purchase fee is a one-time charge built into the cost of the card; once activated there are no recurring fees unless the card sits dormant for an extended period.

KOHO

A reloadable prepaid Mastercard that comes with a mobile app, a virtual card, and an optional physical card. KOHO holds your balance at a regulated banking partner and lets you load funds via direct deposit, e-transfer, or push from another bank. The app provides transaction history, savings goals, joint accounts, and a couple of paid tiers (Easy, Essential, Extra, Everything) that unlock additional cashback, no-FX-fee spending, and other features. KOHO also offers a separate paid Credit Building tradeline that reports to Equifax. KOHO is sometimes described as a "digital chequing account" — accurate in feel, even if it's technically prepaid under the hood.

Feature-by-feature comparison

Joker vs KOHO at a glance — values reflect the standard offerings as of 2026-04-30.

Feature	Joker Prepaid Card	KOHO
Network	Mastercard or Visa	Mastercard
Reloadable	✗	✓
Maximum balance	$500 per card	Account-level (high)
Mobile app	✗	✓
Transaction history	Online only, after registration	App + email
Direct deposit	✗	✓
E-Transfer	✗	✓
ATM withdrawal	✗	✓
Earned cashback	No (promo only)	Yes (tiered)
Credit building option	✗	✓
Foreign transactions	Allowed (with FX margin)	FX margin on free tier; waived on paid tiers
Credit check	✗	✗
Identity verification	Not required to use	Required to open account
Anonymous purchase	✓	✗
Available in stores	✓	Card mailed after signup

Fees compared

The fee structures are fundamentally different shapes — one is a one-time fee built into a card purchase, the other is a tiered subscription model where the free tier covers most basic needs.

Fee figures are illustrative — KOHO updates its tiers periodically. Always confirm the current rate on each provider's official site before deciding.

Cost	Joker	KOHO (Easy / free tier)	KOHO (Extra / paid tier example)
Account opening	$0 (no account)	$0	$0
Activation/purchase fee	$3.95–$7.95 per card	$0	$0
Monthly fee	$0	$0	$9 (illustrative — confirm current)
Foreign transaction fee	~2.5%	1.5%	$0
ATM fees	N/A (no ATM)	Standard interchange	Reduced or free
Replacement card	From remaining balance	Small fee	Often free
Inactivity	Possible monthly fee after dormancy	$0	$0

Important

Both companies adjust their pricing from time to time. The numbers above were accurate as of 2026-04-30 but can change at any time. Confirm on jokercard.ca (opens in a new tab) and koho.ca (opens in a new tab) before signing up or buying.

Choose Joker if… choose KOHO if…

The choice is rarely close once you're honest about what you actually want to do with the card.

Choose Joker when:

You're giving a gift and don't want the recipient tied to your accounts.
You want to make a single online purchase and limit your exposure to a fixed dollar amount.
You're a teen, newcomer, or someone without a chequing account who needs to pay online once.
You don't want to pass identity verification or share personal information with a fintech.
You want a card you can buy in cash and use within minutes.

Choose KOHO when:

You spend regularly and want to earn cashback on the spending you'd be doing anyway.
You want a "main account" for budgeting, savings goals, and direct deposit without paying chequing-account fees.
You need a way to build credit history without applying for a traditional credit card.
You travel and want to avoid foreign-currency conversion fees (paid tiers).
You want a transaction-history app and notifications for every purchase.

Can you use both?

Yes — and many people do, for different jobs. The most common combination is KOHO as a daily account for everyday spending and Joker as a "burner" card for one-off online purchases at a merchant you don't fully trust, or as a gift product when you want to avoid a paper-card route. They don't talk to each other, but they don't interfere either.

A common pattern: keep KOHO for the things where you want history, cashback, and a paper trail; use a Joker card whenever you want to keep a transaction off your main account or you're paying for someone else and don't want recurring charges to bleed into your own balance.

Frequently asked questions

Is KOHO a prepaid card or a bank account?

KOHO is a reloadable prepaid Mastercard backed by a deposit account at a regulated Canadian financial partner. Functionally it behaves like a no-fee chequing account with debit-card-like spending — you can deposit, transfer, and spend, but it is technically a prepaid product, not a chartered bank account.

Does Joker offer a reloadable card?

No. Every card sold under the Joker brand in Canada is non-reloadable. If you want a card you can top up repeatedly, KOHO, Neo Money, EQ Bank, and STACK are the most common alternatives.

Which one has better cashback?

KOHO offers ongoing earned cashback (typically 1% on groceries and transportation, more on KOHO partner merchants, and a smaller base rate on everything else, with paid tiers earning more). Joker offers a 5% promotional cashback at a curated list of merchants but only when buying the card itself with eligible promo codes — it isn't a sustained earn program.

Can I use either of these to build credit?

Joker reports nothing to credit bureaus and does nothing for your credit score. KOHO offers a separate paid Credit Building product (a small monthly fee for a tradeline reported to Equifax) — that is the only way either product helps build credit.

Are funds protected on both?

Both hold customer funds in trust at Canadian regulated institutions, and both run on the Mastercard network. KOHO's accounts are eligible for CDIC coverage through its banking partner; Joker's prepaid balance is protected by the Peoples Trust Company trust structure. Treat both as safe in the bank-failure sense; the bigger risk is fraud or losing the card.