Canadians want only the best in terms of their investment goals like anyone else. This financial aspiration crosses the border into many American investing apps suitable for their money matters. However, they don’t have any – until now.
Now, leverage the power of your financial goals and micro-saving and start genuinely making tangible progress towards your goals with Moka. Today, let’s learn more about this Canadian automated investing app and how it can work out for your financial needs. You can check out Moka’s website here.
Moka: Mylo Rebranded
Moka, rebranding from its former moniker ‘Mylo,’ is one of Canada’s great all-in-one mobile app solutions. With its smooth app that enables you to be the master of your budget, investing, and how to be more financially aware, Moka requires not much effort from you, its valued user. One particular brilliant idea Canadians love about this app is its saving abilities even for spare change, investing it, and turning it into something bigger, one of the many functions Moka offers.
Launched in July 2017, the company previously went by the name Mylo. Moka’s brand of micro-saving rounds up your spending and then saves or invests any difference. When it was still Mylo, Moka appeared on the 2018 Dragon’s Den and has been gaining traction thanks to its straightforward and user-friendly saving and investing choices. At this time, since Moka is a Canadian company, its app is made available only to Canadians. Like Acorns, Moka is an investing app where you can start rounding up your purchases and choose to save or invest that money.
What Moka Offers
As mentioned earlier, Moka rounds up everything you spend. It either saves, invests, or gives this rounded-up amount to specific charities and allows users to choose what happens to their round-up. For example, spending $1.60 will prompt Moka to save $0.40. If you spend $1.30, Moka will save $0.70. If you want to save more, boost your round-up; if your round-up is $0.50 and you use a 3x boost, $1.50 goes to saving. Go boost up to 10x.
One good thing about Moka is that you don’t need to worry about overdrafts. Unfortunately, they only work if accounts have at least $25.00.
Moka Review: How It Works
Moka is an automated investing app that aims to “help achieve your financial goals by making it easier to save more, spending less, and investing smarter.” Sounds impressive, correct? But how does it work?
Moka is pretty straightforward and very user-friendly. After downloading the Moka money app, you can link it to your existing debit or credit cards. Then, once you start using it, the app automatically rounds up all your daily purchases and then invests any spare change for you.
You went to a local grocer and bought your favourite drink. Its total price was $4.15. Moka will then round up your bill to $5, taking that extra $0.85 and investing it. Yes, $0.85 may not seem much. But if you think about the long run, buying that same drink every single day, in the long run, will have a total of $310.25. This amount is how much you can save up from your favourite drink alone in a year. Pretty impressive, right?
Fees from Moka App
Moka offers some of the most affordable pricing in terms of fees among its competition. Although there’s a $3.99 monthly fee together with taxes, it already includes a multitude of benefits such as:
- Automated features for your savings
- Cashback perks from different partner stores
- Round-ups options that give back to charity
- Socially responsible choices for your investment goals
- Unlimited investment accounts, tax-free!
Aside from the Moka basic plan, another offer is Moka 360, or the premium plan. It is $15 monthly, comes with a few more extra features:
- Access to financial advice, personalized for you
- Customized debt plan
- Double cashback shopping perks
- $360 refund when you don’t save what you pay during your first year (risk-free, indeed!)
How Moka App Investing Works
You can have either a TFSA, RRSP, or non-registered account for your Moka savings. Then, automatically, your spare change gets invested into investment portfolios of diversified ETFs, allowing you can sit back and relax while watching your savings grow without breaking a sweat.
You’ll have five (5) different portfolio options based on the risk level you wish to pursue:
- Aggressive (80% Moka Equity ETF, 20% Moka Fixed Income ETF)
- Moderate (40% Moka Equity ETF, 60% Moka Fixed Income ETF)
- Moderate-Aggressive (60% Moka Equity ETF, 40% Moka Fixed Income ETF)
- Conservative-Moderate ( 60% Moka Fixed Income ETF, 40% Moka Money Market ETF)
- Conservative (100% Moka Money Market ETF)
For others who might be wondering, your money gets invested by a portfolio manager from Tactex Asset Management – a subsidiary of Moka Financial Technologies Inc. Currently, Tactex Asset Management manages more than $200 million worth of assets.
Benefits You’ll Get from Moka
Aside from your money round-ups and investments being done for you, the Moka app also promotes an ‘advisor’ service. This feature is real-time and allows you the chat function, integrated into the app, to ask Moka advisors any financial questions you may have about your account. However, this advisor service is only available for Moka 360 members as of December 2020.
Moka Perks is another benefit Moka users can enjoy, essentially providing cashback incentives when shopping at certain brands like Apple Music, HelloFresh, Uber Eats, and more!
Additionally, users who upgrade from the basic Moka to Moka 360 get several added benefits in helping you manage their finance and cut costs.
Pros
It is user-friendly, easy to set up, and free to use.
It has valuable ways of utilizing your spare change.
It offers a few excellent benefits and cashback perks.
The app is safe to use plus has overall great reviews.
Cons
The app does not have enough account options.
The fees are pretty high, especially for those who seldom use the app.
It is not as valuable for larger investment goals.
It has no signup promos as of the moment.
Moka App: Is It Safe to Use?
Like any other financial app or online tool available nowadays, it’s pretty standard for people to question whether or not the Moka app is safe or not. The simple answer – is yes. It is safe and secure as any other investment app can be.
Moka’s security measures are the same as Canada’s central banks, including 256-but encryptions, SSL connections, and strict and heightened security policies. Although not everything online is ever 100% safe, especially nowadays, Moka ensures to go above and beyond its capabilities and do everything to protect you and your money’s worth.
Moka utilizes 256-bit encryption and SSL on their website regarding security. In addition, Moka has security standards that separate the risk tolerance possibly incurred from investments. Although Moka’s investments involve a diversified portfolio, there is no guarantee of not losing money on your investments.
But rest assured that the ETFs that Moka invests in are all insured by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. In addition, Fidelity Clearing Canada is Moka’s custodian, while its trustee is TSX Trust. So remember that funds in your account are insured, but your Moka account itself is not guaranteed CIPF insurance.
Moka App: Is It Worth it?
One question remains – is the Moka App worth it? A $3-monthly basic account seems pretty fair and reasonable. The fundamental factor boils down to whether or not you save and how much you save. For those who want to save, invest, or donate easily automatically, Moka is an option to do so, especially if you’re in Canada. Easily monitor your spending from within the app, and stay on top of your savings, investing, and donation goals.
But be reminded that it can be relatively expensive, so decide whether or not it makes sense depending on the costs. The bottom line, the app’s value significantly depends on your perception of how much you will be able to save.
Get Started with Moka
Using the Moka app is relatively easy. Download the app and follow these three (3) easy steps:
- Connect – Create an account, then link it to your bank, debit, and credit card.
- Spend – Use your linked accounts and cards for purchases and services.
- Invest – Spare change, round them up, and have it invested automatically.
Use the Moka app to shop and see your savings goals manifest, and Moka investment returns grow and grow! Download the Moka app now.
Moka App Key Takeaways
What we love about Moka, like how many others loved it, is its simplicity and ease of use. Moka makes it incredibly easy for you to invest your “spare change,” potentially getting people to start saving and investing, unlike before. Because it allows you to save without lifting a finger, this app is worthwhile, and the perfect investment tool Canadians can use to manage any struggles in saving regularly.
If you already have saving strategies in the bag, perhaps Moka isn’t for you anymore. Be better off simply by taking your savings each end-of-month and using other appropriate options. But if you love the idea of spare change investments, then who are we to limit you – try everything, including the Moka app, Canada’s automated investing app!
Also Read:
Acorns alternatives in Canada
Best money-saving apps in Canada
Questrade broker review
Since Moka allows you to invest your savings, you can let your money work for you. Moka works by rounding every purchase you make onto the next dollar and investing the spare money to grow your money. You can increase your savings by creating multipliers in your rounds, called Moka multipliers, and allocating additional purchases with different goals.
What separates Moka from many other budgeting apps on the market is that it helps you save on your usual spending habits. You can use the Moka Money app, which completes your daily purchases and invests your change. As mentioned earlier, Moka is an app that helps you save and invest your money.
Both Moka and Mylo allow you to save and invest your change, but they are more than just simple all-in-one apps. Moka is an investment app similar to Acorns, which lets you round up your purchases and save or invest money. It’s a revolutionary app and the first of its kind in Canada when it was launched, but Mylo doesn’t automate your savings like Moka, in a way you’ll notice.
If you go to the Moka account page in the app to get free cash perks, you’ll find a list of cashback deals. Moka App also advertises an advisory service in addition to rounding your money up and investing as normal. This is a real-time chat feature built into the app that allows you to ask questions of Moka advisors about what you are doing with your finances.
At the same time, Moka allows you to set up savings and investment accounts for your emergency fund, travel and holiday funds, house payments, Christmas gifts, etc. In addition, Moka Perks includes cashback and other exclusive offers to help you save money without redirecting it to investment accounts. You can also use the app to get the best out of both worlds by investing karma.
Moka Canada Review
Moka is a savings and investment app that aims to help Canadians attain their financial goals, previously known as Mylo. The Mylo app has been renamed Moka, making it easier to invest your spare change and get used to saving. The Moka app is particularly beneficial if you have difficulty investing or saving large sums of money.
Moka 360 is all about finding more money in your life to help you achieve your financial goals. Round off your purchases with Moka and manage a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to save money fast and effortlessly. Moka app helps build good habits and learn how to invest, but fees can be high if you rely on a round of spare cash.
If you decide to invest in your roundups, Moka will pick the investments for you. Moka charges $3 a month to manage the money you invest, no matter what.
The Moka app is helpful for those new to investing and who need a little help and encouragement to invest a bit of money each day. It is easy to use, there is no minimum amount you can invest, and if you take your change with you, you can achieve your financial goals without a pinch in your pocket. The app is also helpful for anyone who finds it hard to put money aside to save or finds investments scary.
Those who need an automated, stress-free way to invest without making significant financial sacrifices to grow their money will find the Moka App handy. Moka’s automated savings and investment technology, coupled with its low-cost ETFs, is worth looking at. With Moka, people can save and invest without even considering it.
Moka is worth the monthly expense if you can maintain enough money in your account (at least $7,200) and you are happy with how your portfolio manager is investing your money. If you have trouble saving money, Moka could be a suitable solution. It improves your savings habits and is ideal for those looking for a more automated investment. However, if you have already invested and want to invest a significant amount of money in wealthy individuals, the Moka app may not suit you.
The flat fee of $3 per month is good value if you have lots of money invested in your Moka App account. However, if you want to use Moka as a micro-savings app but don’t plan to keep much cash in your account, the monthly cost isn’t worth it, but the app’s “automated savings features can help you save an extra $36 a month to offset the monthly fee. Moka app is a viable option for beginners who want to build good saving habits and learn how to invest, but due to its high monthly flat fee ($3 / month), it can end up costing more than it is worth if you don’t have enough money in the account.
One way to see Moka as a forced savings tool is to figure out how to put money aside each month. If you already know a little about investing, you can do it with Moka.
With Moka, you can set financial goals to save for retirement, make a down payment on a new home or other big purchases. Moka allows you to harness the power of dreams and micro-savings to build up to your financial goals with Moka. In addition, because Moka funds are invested in market-based ETFs, you have the potential to achieve a higher return than with a traditional savings account, and you can get your money back over time.