Two years ago, I blurted out a dream to a reporter at the finish line of my first marathon. “My goal is to run Boston in 2021.” Well, we all know how that went…

But I didn’t know that at the time. I had a dream, and I had to finance it. Enter… Moka!

It wasn’t called Moka at the time I set up my account; it was called Mylo, and rebranded to Moka about a year ago. But the name is the only thing that’s changed.

What is Moka?

Moka is a financial app available on iphone and Android that allows users to invest the extra change on their purchases into a variety of accounts (such as TFSAs and RRSPs). You buy a mocha for $4.25, and the purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar (self-evidently called “roundups”). the extra $0.75 ($4.25 gets rounded up to $5, leaving $0.75) gets invested into your account, and your roundups go in to your account from your funding source (usually a linked checking or savings account) once a week.

Flexible Options

Your roundups aren’t the only way you can save. You can deposit a set amount every week ($5, $10, $20). You can multiply your roundups (that $0.75 can be multiplied up to ten times, so you could save anything from $0.75 to $7.50 on that mocha). You could invest your spare change into a variety of accounts, including RRSPs and TFSAs. If your funding source is down to a certain balance, you can tell the app not to pull your roundups, which helpfully avoids NSF fees. Their Moka 360 plan offers financial advice, the ability for them to renegotiate bills on your behalf, and double cashback rewards.

Cashback?

When Moka first offered cashback, they used services such as Uber Eats and Doordash, and retailers such as Frank and Oak – services that I’ve used regularly. However, many of their current cashback offers – which haven’t changed in months – are for retailers I’ve never heard of, or have extremely expensive products and/or shipping rates. Thankfully, they do have a Referral program, where each referral who funds their account gets $5 to both the referral and the referree (which has been doubled to $10 for the month of August). If that referral program interests you, please click this link for $10 once you fund your account. Moka is available in both Canada and France.

Accessibility Issues

I must say this is one of the frustrating parts about using the app on Android (I can’t speak to IOS). There are many unlabeled buttons, where Talkback doesn’t provide any spoken information. If you tap the button, it works as intended, but you’re never really sure until after you’ve tapped it what option you’ve selected. I recently tried to create a new account, and was unable to open the pop-up calendar I needed. The other drawback on this front is that there is no web portal equivalent, so if there are issues with the app, there is no alternative. And I must say that Moka has been less than responsive to my inquiries about improving accessibility.

The bottom Line

I’ve enjoyed using Moka for the past two years. It’s enabled me to save effortlessly, with the ability to pause my withdrawals for a period of a few weeks when money was tight. Their accessibility concerns notwithstanding, I’ve found them generally approachable, and it’s sometimes fun to watch my savings grow. While it’s not my only saving vehicle, I’m glad I have my Moka account. It will come in handy someday soon.

Disclaimer

I have not been asked by Moka or any of its parent companies or subsidiaries (if applicable) to write this review, nor have I received any incentives, benefits, or compensation from moka for doing so.