Big Six lender moved to speed up mortgage approvals for digital‑first borrowers
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has announced the purchase of Toronto-based fintech Pinch Financial, a move it said was aimed at shortening mortgage decision times for tech-savvy borrowers.
RBC, a major player in Canada’s mortgage market with $20.4 billion in revenue in 2025, presents the deal as part of its push to keep up with borrowers who now expect to qualify and apply for home loans online instead of in a branch. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This acquisition helps us deliver on our commitment to bring the best solutions to clients on their path to home ownership,” said Janet Boyle, senior vice president, home equity financing at RBC.
“Pinch’s technology will help us accelerate our digital roadmap to deliver a quicker, more streamlined mortgage experience for Canadians.”
Pinch operates a platform that verifies borrower information online to help qualify Canadians for a mortgage and submit applications to lenders, allowing banks and brokers to automate more of the underwriting process.
“We started Pinch to make mortgages more relevant and familiar for digital‑first consumers – making the qualification process faster, simpler, and more transparent for borrowers,” said Andrew Wells, CEO of Pinch Financial.
“This acquisition gives us the opportunity to bring our technology to more Canadians while being part of a team that shares our vision for innovation in financial services. Together, we’re excited to continue pushing what’s possible in digital mortgage experiences.”
RBC said the deal supports its strategy of using new technology to deliver more personalized experiences at scale for its 19‑million‑plus clients in Canada, the United States and other markets worldwide.
RBC operates a diversified global franchise spanning personal and commercial banking, wealth management, capital markets and insurance, with roughly 100,000 employees and operations in Canada, the US and 27 other countries.
The bank, one of the largest in the world by market capitalization, reported net income of $5.8 billion for the quarter ended January 31.
Pinch, meanwhile, is a far smaller private fintech founded in 2016. It focuses on white‑label and direct‑to‑consumer mortgage qualification solutions, offering lenders and real estate partners embedded tools to pre‑qualify borrowers in minutes and keep them within a branded digital experience.
The acquisition also landed amid a wider technology shift in Canada’s mortgage market. The industry’s tech revolution highlights how the pandemic and the rise of artificial intelligence push lenders and brokers to overhaul legacy systems, with automation now touching everything from document collection to credit adjudication.
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