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KOHO members who rely on the platform's Rent Reporting service got an unwelcome notice on August 11, 2026: the feature is being discontinued. According to KOHO's own help centre communication, no new subscriptions are being accepted, and existing tradelines will be closed "in good standing" after September 30, 2026. For renters who built their credit history around that monthly report to Equifax, the countdown clock is now running.
It's worth being fair here. KOHO's Credit Building program has genuinely worked for a lot of people. KOHO's own marketing has long cited meaningful average credit-score gains for Credit Building members within months of enrolling. Nobody is walking away from KOHO Rent Reporting because it failed them. They're walking away because the product itself is going away, and they need somewhere new to land before the September 30 deadline closes the door.
As of August 2026, KOHO runs three tiers: Essential (free with a qualifying paycheque deposit or $1,000-plus added monthly, otherwise a fee applies), Extra at $12 per month, and Everything at $14.75 per month. Cashback on everyday categories scales from 1% to 2% depending on plan, with 0% to 0.5% on everything else, and savings interest ranges from 2% to 3.5%. One gap matters a lot for this article: KOHO does not support paying rent by credit card at all. That single limitation is a big reason renters searching for koho alternatives renters often want are ones that combine cashback on rent with a working credit-reporting tradeline in one place.
Renters are also navigating a market that's finally cooling, but rent is still one of the largest line items in most Canadian households. Data from Rentals.ca's National Rent Report shows the national average asking rent hit $2,037 in July 2026, down 4.0% year-over-year, marking the 22nd straight month of annual declines. That's real relief after years of increases. Yet CMHC's purpose-built rental survey (October 2025) still puts the national average two-bedroom rent at $1,550, with Vancouver alone averaging $2,363 for the same unit type. Whichever number you look at, renters are moving large sums every month with zero reward and, until now, an uncertain future for their credit-building tradeline.
Our goal with this comparison is straightforward: give KOHO Rent Reporting members, and any renter interested in cashback on rent, a dated, honest look at seven alternatives so they can make a decision before the cutoff. For more on how rent prices have moved over the past year, see our breakdown of average rent trends in Canada for 2026.
If you want both cashback on rent and free credit reporting in a single account, Neobanc is our top pick. It replaces the two things KOHO Rent Reporting members are losing - a working tradeline and a reward on the largest bill they pay - without adding a new monthly fee for basic reporting. The other six alternatives each solve a narrower problem: Chexy for e-Transfer-based rent with paid credit building, Borrowell Rent Advantage for pure reporting, FrontLobby if your landlord is willing to sign up, Zenbase for partnered rental buildings, TenantPay for a flat pre-authorized debit fee, and Casa if you carry a ScotiaGold Passport Visa.
If you only read one paragraph of this article: KOHO Rent Reporting members who need a new home for their tradeline before September 30, 2026, and who also want cashback on rent, can move both functions into one Neobanc account rather than juggling two separate services.
Before picking an alternative, it helps to see fees, cashback, and reporting side by side. Every fee below reflects each provider's published pricing as of August 2026 and can change, so we recommend checking the provider's own page before committing. For a broader look at rent-focused apps beyond this list, our guide to the best rent apps in Canada covers additional context.
KOHO Alternatives for Renters - Fee and Feature Comparison (Aug 2026)
| Alternative | Fee by Payment Method (Aug 2026) | Native Cashback | Rent Reporting | Landlord Signup Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neobanc | e-Transfer free · card 1.50% (1% cashback) or 2.25% (2% cashback) | Yes — 1-2% real cash | Free (Equifax) · $2/mo backfill | No |
| Chexy | 1.75% flat (1.50-1.65% on annual memberships) | No | Plus plan only ($20/mo, Equifax + TransUnion) | No (e-Transfer) |
| Borrowell Rent Advantage | n/a — reporting only | No | $10/mo (Equifax only) | No |
| FrontLobby | n/a — reporting only | No | $4/mo (Equifax + Landlord Credit Bureau) | Yes — landlord must approve |
| Zenbase | No credit cards · debit 0.6% (CustomRent $9.90/mo + 0.75%) | No | From $3/mo (Equifax; +TransUnion in partner buildings) | CustomRent: partner buildings only |
| TenantPay | Visa 1.75% · Mastercard 2.75% · PAD $4.99 flat | Points (gift cards / rent savings) | Free (Equifax) | No |
| Casa | 1.75% credit · 1.00% debit · 0% ScotiaGold Passport Visa | No | Not published | No |
The reporting column is where KOHO refugees should look first. Only Neobanc and TenantPay offer any native cashback tied to the rent payment itself, and only two providers (Zenbase and FrontLobby) require the landlord or building to actively participate before you can use the service at all.
Neobanc pays your rent, bills, mortgage, and even gift card purchases while earning cashback on the payment, and it does it without asking your landlord to create an account. The landlord simply receives an Interac e-Transfer on the due date, the same way they'd expect to be paid regardless.
Funding your rent payment through Interac e-Transfer costs nothing. If you'd rather fund it with a credit card, Neobanc charges a 1.50% fee and returns 1% cashback, or a 2.25% fee for 2% cashback on a six-month rolling unlock (a tier you choose at setup). Because the cashback stacks on top of whatever rewards your card already earns, a renter pairing a 4% cashback card with Neobanc's 2% promotional tier can realistically pull in up to 6% combined return. We cover card selection in more detail in our guide to the best credit card for paying rent in Canada, and Amex holders specifically should check our Amex bill payment breakdown for eligibility notes.
Here's what that looks like on a typical $2,000 monthly rent payment, comparing a renter who could previously only use KOHO (which does not support credit card rent payments at all) against the same renter funding rent through Neobanc with a credit card.
Worked Example - $2,000 Monthly Rent: Neobanc vs KOHO
| Payment Method | Fee Paid | Cashback Earned | Net Effective Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOHO (no card rent payments possible) | $0 | $0 | $2,000.00 — no reward |
| Neobanc — card at 1.50% (+2% cashback card) | $30.00 | $60.00 (1% Neobanc + 2% card) | $1,970.00 — net $30 gain |
| Neobanc — card at 2.25% (+2% cashback card) | $45.00 | $80.00 (2% Neobanc + 2% card) | $1,965.00 — net $35 gain |
In the KOHO scenario, the renter pays the full $2,000 with no reward, since KOHO does not accept credit card rent payments. In the Neobanc scenario, funding the same rent with a card carrying its own 2% rewards program means the 1.50% fee ($30) is offset by combined cashback of $60 (1% Neobanc plus 2% card rewards), for a $30 net gain instead of a flat loss. Renters who want to model their own numbers before switching can run figures through our cashback calculator.
Neobanc reports rent payments to Equifax at no additional cost. Renters who want to establish a longer history can also add a $2 per month backfill option that reports up to 24 months of past rent, which is useful for anyone coming from KOHO who wants to preserve some continuity in their credit file rather than starting a fresh tradeline from scratch. Our guide to building credit in Canada walks through how rent reporting fits into a broader credit strategy.
Neobanc is registered as a money services business with FINTRAC (C100000880) and operates out of Toronto. Renters can read more about the company on our About Neobanc page, and the app is also available for iPhone users following our recent iOS App Store launch.
Best for: renters who want one account that both reports rent for free and earns real cashback on the payment itself, without needing the landlord to sign up for anything.
Chexy has been a familiar name in the Canadian rent-payment space since 2023, letting tenants pay rent, utilities, taxes, condo fees, and even tuition using e-Transfer, bill pay, or pre-authorized debit.
Paying with a Canadian Visa, Mastercard, or Amex costs a flat 1.75% fee (2.5% for international cards). What's changed recently is the membership structure: Chexy now runs Essential ($9.99 per month or $90 per year) and Plus ($20 per month or $200 per year) tiers, and billing annually lowers the card fee to 1.65% on Essential or 1.50% on Plus. As of June 19, 2026, Credit Builder reporting to Equifax and TransUnion moved behind the Plus tier specifically, though members who joined earlier were grandfathered in for free.
Renters weighing Chexy against a cashback-first option can see a full side-by-side in our Neobanc vs. Chexy comparison.
Best for: renters who specifically want two-bureau credit reporting and are comfortable paying a monthly membership fee to get it.
Borrowell Rent Advantage is a reporting-only product. It doesn't move your rent money at all; it simply connects to the bank account or card you already use to pay rent and reports that activity to Equifax Canada.
The service costs $10 per month, or $8 per month when bundled with other Borrowell products. Rent History, the backdating feature that reports up to 24 months of past payments, costs $99 one time ($69 bundled). No landlord approval is needed since Borrowell simply reads your existing payment activity rather than routing funds through the platform.
Best for: renters who don't want to change their payment method at all and just need a straightforward reporting-only tradeline to replace what KOHO is discontinuing.
FrontLobby takes a different approach: it reports to both Equifax and the Landlord Credit Bureau, but it requires the landlord or property manager to sign up and approve the reporting relationship first. The Plus tier runs $4 per month when billed annually.
Best for: renters whose landlord is already familiar with landlord-side credit tools and willing to opt in.
Zenbase is a Calgary-based platform built around two distinct products: CustomRent, which splits a single rent payment into two installments, and CreditBuilder, a standalone reporting tool.
CustomRent costs $9.90 per month plus 0.75% of the rent amount, but it's only available at partnered landlords or buildings, meaning renters can't simply sign up on their own. Payment goes through a bank account or debit card at a 0.6% fee; credit cards aren't accepted for CustomRent at all. CreditBuilder is separate and open to any renter, starting at $3 per month, reporting to Equifax (or Equifax and TransUnion at partner buildings). A one-time RentHistory backfill covering 24 months costs $19.90.
Best for: renters in a partnered building who want installment flexibility, or anyone who just wants a low-cost, standalone reporting option.
Neobanc keeps your credit-building streak alive and pays you cashback on rent while you're at it.
Keep Building CreditTenantPay has been operating since 2006, making it one of the longer-standing names in this space, and it's rent-focused only rather than a general bill-payment platform.
Pre-authorized debit runs a flat $4.99 per payment, which is the lowest fixed fee on this list for renters who don't want percentage-based pricing. Visa debit costs 0.99%, Visa credit costs 1.75%, and Mastercard credit costs 2.75%; Amex support is listed as "coming soon." TenantPay also runs its own points system, redeemable for gift cards across more than 115 brands or applied toward future rent, plus a monthly rent draw (TRSP) for members who pay between the 7th and 28th of the month. TenantPay's own marketing claims a return of up to 6% on rent when combining points with card rewards, though renters should verify the redemption value of points against straight cashback before assuming parity.
Renters specifically comparing fixed-fee PAD pricing against cashback-based models can see the numbers laid out in our Neobanc vs. TenantPay comparison.
Best for: renters who pay by direct debit and want the lowest possible flat fee, and don't mind a points-based reward system instead of straight cashback.
Casa (paywithcasa.com) focuses narrowly on rent and condo fee payments, and its most notable feature is a partnership rather than a general fee structure.
As of a partnership announced March 2, 2026, Scotiabank ScotiaGold Passport Visa cardholders pay a 0% fee through Casa, and earn Scene+ points at one point per dollar on housing payments when their other monthly spend hits $350 or more, with up to 10,000 bonus Scene+ points available. Outside that specific card, Canadian Visa and Mastercard credit payments cost 1.75%, and debit cards cost 1.00%. American Express is not accepted at all.
Renters weighing whether the card-specific discount outweighs the lack of credit reporting can compare details in our Neobanc vs. Casa breakdown.
Best for: Scotiabank ScotiaGold Passport Visa cardholders who want a fee-free way to pay rent by credit card, and who already have credit reporting covered elsewhere.
With seven options on the table, the right pick depends on what you actually need replaced. KOHO members losing Rent Reporting are dealing with two separate needs that used to live in one product: a working credit tradeline, and (for some) a reward on the payment itself. Not every alternative solves both.
Borrowell Rent Advantage, FrontLobby, and Zenbase CreditBuilder are all reporting-only tools that don't touch how you actually pay rent. FrontLobby requires landlord buy-in; the other two don't. If you just need a tradeline and don't care about cashback, these are worth comparing purely on monthly cost and which bureaus they report to.
Neobanc is the only option on this list that pairs free rent reporting with native cashback that stacks on your existing card rewards. That combination matters most for renters coming from KOHO who valued both halves of the old product. Our credit-building guide and automatic rent payment setup guide both walk through the practical side of getting started.
Zenbase's CustomRent split-payment feature and FrontLobby's Landlord Credit Bureau reporting both depend on landlord or building participation. If your landlord isn't willing to sign up for anything, Neobanc, Chexy, TenantPay, and Casa all work without requiring landlord enrollment, since they pay out by e-Transfer, PAD, or direct deposit regardless of whether the landlord uses the platform. Landlords interested in the collection side of this can review the Landlord Partner Program, and property managers exploring integration options may find our enterprise API for embedded rent payments useful. Real estate professionals working with renters can also review the Realtor Partner Program.
Several of these platforms extend beyond rent. If bills, utilities, or telecom payments are part of your monthly routine, it's worth checking whether your chosen alternative covers those too. We've written specific guides on BC Hydro rates, Bell bill payment, and a broader look at the best bill payment apps in Canada, plus a BMO Mastercard payment guide for cardholders trying to maximize stacked rewards. Pairing rent cashback with a solid budgeting app can also help track how much these small percentage rewards add up to over a full year.
Cashback Stacking Scenarios on $2,000 Rent (Neobanc, Aug 2026)
| Funding Method | Neobanc Fee | Neobanc Cashback | Card Rewards Added | Total Monthly Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interac e-Transfer | $0 | $0 | n/a | $0 — free, no return |
| Card at 1.50% + 2% cashback card | $30.00 | $20.00 (1%) | $40.00 (2%) | +$30.00 |
| Card at 2.25% + 2% cashback card | $45.00 | $40.00 (2%) | $40.00 (2%) | +$35.00 |
| Card at 2.25% + 4% cashback card | $45.00 | $40.00 (2%) | $80.00 (4%) | +$75.00 |
According to KOHO's help centre notice, existing tradelines will be closed in good standing after that date. That means the history you've built stays on your credit file as a closed account, but no new payments will be reported after the cutoff, so opening a replacement service before then keeps your credit-building momentum continuous.
No. KOHO does not support paying rent by credit card in any of its plans. This is one of the main reasons renters searching for koho alternatives renters can trust often land on platforms like Neobanc, Chexy, or TenantPay, all of which accept card-based rent payments.
Yes. Chexy's Plus tier reports to both Equifax and TransUnion, and Zenbase reports to both bureaus at partnered buildings. Neobanc, Borrowell Rent Advantage, and TenantPay currently report to Equifax only.
Neobanc reports rent to Equifax at no charge, and funding rent through Interac e-Transfer carries no Neobanc fee either. Cashback specifically requires funding through a credit card, which comes with a 1.50% or 2.25% fee depending on the tier chosen.
Most options on this list, including Neobanc, Chexy, TenantPay, and Casa, don't require landlord participation at all. They pay the landlord by Interac e-Transfer, direct deposit, or PAD, the same way rent would arrive normally. Only Zenbase's CustomRent and FrontLobby require the landlord or building to actively opt in.
Most of these platforms can be set up within a few days, since they connect to your existing bank account or credit card rather than requiring landlord approval. Given the volume of KOHO members likely switching in the weeks before the cutoff, we'd suggest starting the process earlier rather than waiting until late September.
Keep your rent tradeline alive and start earning up to 6% cashback on every rent payment with Neobanc's rent reporting.
Switch to NeobancWhichever alternative fits your situation, the important thing is acting before September 30, 2026, so your credit-building history doesn't hit a gap. For more on rent trends, credit strategy, and payment tools, browse our full blog, or check our FAQ page for specific setup questions.
According to KOHO's help centre notice, existing tradelines will be closed in good standing after that date. That means the history you've built stays on your credit file as a closed account, but no new payments will be reported after the cutoff, so opening a replacement service before then keeps your credit-building momentum continuous.
No. KOHO does not support paying rent by credit card in any of its plans. This is one of the main reasons renters searching for koho alternatives renters can trust often land on platforms like Neobanc, Chexy, or TenantPay, all of which accept card-based rent payments.
Yes. Chexy's Plus tier reports to both Equifax and TransUnion, and Zenbase reports to both bureaus at partnered buildings. Neobanc, Borrowell Rent Advantage, and TenantPay currently report to Equifax only.
Neobanc reports rent to Equifax at no charge, and funding rent through Interac e-Transfer carries no Neobanc fee either. Cashback specifically requires funding through a credit card, which comes with a 1.50% or 2.25% fee depending on the tier chosen.
Most options on this list, including Neobanc, Chexy, TenantPay, and Casa, don't require landlord participation at all. They pay the landlord by Interac e-Transfer, direct deposit, or PAD, the same way rent would arrive normally. Only Zenbase's CustomRent and FrontLobby require the landlord or building to actively opt in.
Most of these platforms can be set up within a few days, since they connect to your existing bank account or credit card rather than requiring landlord approval. Given the volume of KOHO members likely switching in the weeks before the cutoff, we'd suggest starting the process earlier rather than waiting until late September.
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