Did you know that 1 out of 3 Canadians can’t pay for an emergency expense of $2,000?*

Sun Life, in partnership with Moka, is here to help.

Here’s an FAQ to help explain this exciting pilot partnership.

What is Moka?

Moka is an app that makes it easy for people to save more, spend less and invest smarter. It automatically rounds up users’ everyday purchases and invests the spare change. Over time, this can add up quickly.

Additional features include lowering bills, accelerating debt repayment, personalized financial coaching and cashback rewards.

With no minimum to open an account, a registered portfolio manager invests users’ money in a diversified portfolio of affordable Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Moka is already looking after over $250 million for their clients. As the first round up and save app in Canada, Moka has over one million downloads and thousands of 5-star reviews.

How will the pilot partnership work?

Moka provides a lot of different services. But for the purposes of this pilot, we’ll be focusing on helping Canadians invest their spare change into an emergency fund with Moka. As we know, this is a gap in the personal finances of many Canadians.

We’ll communicate the offer to a select group of plan members via our secure site. A member who receives the offer can then sign up for Moka. They’d download the app, create an account and link their bank account. Then every time they use their credit and/or debit card, Moka will round up each purchase and invest the spare change into a Moka Emergency Savings Account.

During sign up, a series of questions are asked to better understand the users' financial situation, risk tolerance and financial goals. Based on this information, a registered portfolio manager will then invest users’ money in a corresponding investment portfolio (e.g. Moka Money Market ETF Fund, Moka Fixed Income ETF Fund or Moka Equity ETF Fund). Members can update the fund as they choose. The funds are independently selected and managed by Moka. They’re not connected to the member's group retirement products.

Moka charges $3 per month per member to use their platform. If a member signs up as part of this pilot, the first month’s fee is waived. Members will also get $25 deposited in their account by Moka if they sign up by December 29, 2021 and fund their account by January 7, 2022. Moka will deposit $25 in their account by January 21, 2022. This would be the incentive for members to sign up.

Moka also offers Moka 360, their premium option, for $15 per month. Moka 360 isn’t included in the pilot. If a member wants to upgrade, they’d have to pay themselves.

What are the goals of the pilot?

The pilot will test two things. First, we’ll discover more about our members and their interest in setting up an emergency account. Second, we’ll learn more about their interest levels in Moka and other similar services.

When will the pilot start and end?

It’ll start on November 29, 2021 and end on May 29, 2022. If we consider the pilot a success, we’ll look at making this a long-term partnership.

Which members will be part of the pilot?

The pilot will target between 20,000 and 25,000 members. Members from a pre-determined list of plan sponsors will be randomly selected as long as they meet certain criteria. There’s no guarantee that your employees will be part of the pilot. But if it turns into a long-term partnership, we’ll open it up to a larger pool of members.

Is there a cost to you, the sponsor?

You don't have to pay anything.

Is there a cost to the member?

If a member signs up, the fee for the first month will be waived. After that, the member would have to pay the $3 per month if they want to continue using the service. They can cancel at any time. The pilot does not cover Moka 360.

Will Sun Life be doing member messaging?

Yes. We’ll be doing member messaging on our secure site to present the offer to participating members. Members would then need to click through from the offer to receive their first month free.

Will Moka be doing member messaging?

No. Sun Life will send out the offer. If a member signs up with Moka, they would then be subject to the terms and conditions of Moka's marketing policy. Sun Life is not receiving any referral fees from Moka.

What’s in it for you?

This is another example of how Sun Life is helping employees with their financial wellness. We know that not having an emergency account is a gap for many Canadians. This is our way of helping to shrink this gap.

What’s in it for members?

Members get set up with a great company with a proven track record. Without even having to think about it, they’ll start building up money in an emergency account. This will provide peace of mind knowing that they have extra funds available should something come up. They’ll also get their first month free with Moka and get a free $25 in their account if they complete the steps noted above.

If you have questions about this pilot partnership, contact your GRS representative.

* Financial Consumer Agency of Canada