Introducing Pine: A new way for Canadians to get their mortgage

Today we are incredibly excited to officially launch Pine in Ontario and announce our $27M of funding. Pine offers a new direct and online way for Canadians to get their mortgage.

Growing up in Canada, I became accustomed to the state of our financial services. The big banks, who the overwhelming majority of Canadians use for their financial needs, have been offering their products the same way for decades. This meant having to go to the branch to open an account or close a new mortgage.

I even briefly worked for a couple of the major banks, but I quickly realized that I’d have a bigger impact by pursuing a career in technology in Silicon Valley. It was down in the United States that my eyes were opened to the wider variety of financial services available to Americans. Instead of e-transfering, people were using new apps to quickly send money to each other, and at the same time being able to access their credit needs entirely online.

I had the good fortune to be at the forefront of the digital mortgage transformation while working at Blend, a leading Fintech company helping banks and lenders digitize their mortgage channels. By the end of my time at Blend, the majority of US lenders had brought their mortgage process online. Sadly, the same advancements had not been made in Canada. This bothered me and was something I knew I wanted to change.

Having witnessed a better way to get a mortgage, I founded Pine alongside Jonathan Shih in early 2021. We’ve built a new straightforward way for Canadians to finance their home. Building off of our previous digital mortgage experience, we have taken a technology-driven approach to bring much of the lending software in-house to be able to offer customers a more accessible and affordable experience.

There is a lot of work to do, but we are excited to reach this milestone. Pine is now available in Ontario and has plans to expand across the country. It’s our mission to bring a better mortgage experience to Canadians and it starts today!

Justin Herlick,

CEO & Co-founder of Pine‍