‘You can apply at 1 a.m.:’ Digital mortgage company surpasses $1 billion in home loans

Justin Herlick, co-founder and CEO of Pine, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss how tech is reshaping home ownership following the company being named Linkedin's top

A Canadian digital mortgage company plans to cut out the middleman by offering the convenience and flexibility of a loan without the need of bank visits.

Toronto-based Pine provides an online platform to buy and refinance homes by simplifying the mortgage process through digital solutions, personalized options and streamlined approvals.

“You can apply at 1 a.m., you can take an appointment during the day, if that works for you,” Justin Herlick, CEO of Pine told BNN Bloomberg in a Thursday interview. “We’re on your schedule, and that’s the main difference.”

Pine, ranked as LinkedIn’s top startup of the year, surpassed $1 billion in mortgages under their administration and serves over 100,000 customers.

• Most recent real estate news from BNNBloomberg.ca

Herlick said the company focuses on prime borrowers at the moment butplans to look at non-prime users next year.

“Anyone who’s getting approved from Pine is more than likely getting approved from a bank,” said Herlick. “We’re not looking at clients through a different lens. We’re actually underwriting to probably a stricter standard, just due to a few restrictions that we have. But with that, it gives us a really healthy prime group of customers.”

Wealthsimple has partnered with Pine to offer a co-branded mortgage product that provides Wealthsimple clients with access to Pine’s digital mortgage platform and cash-back rebates. Lending and underwriting is handled by Pine, while Wealthsimple provides the referral and administers the cash-back incentives

Herlick said the company ensures security through its in-house built technology and several identity verification methods.

• Latest updates on investing here

“I’d like to think that we’re the most secure, because rather than taking an old process and trying to secure it after the fact, we’re secure from day one, which has been a big focus for us now,” said Herlick.

He said the company takes extra measures to protect itself against fraud. While they don’t meet customers in person, they have ways to verify identity and income.

“It is a scary world out there, and we’re doing all that we can to make sure that we’re approving and funding the highest quality customers right,” said Herlick.

The company does not take deposits but works with banks for wholesale funding and securitization. Pine’s business model involves fees from banks to administer mortgages, with most loans insured by Canadian insurance companies.