Nesto (company)

Nesto (styled as nesto) is a fintech company and Canadian digital mortgage lender based in Montreal, Quebec, with a Canada-wide presence.

History
nesto emerged when tech entrepreneur Malik Yacoubi and his partner Karim Benabdallah aimed to start a fintech venture. Following prior successes including Mobilito, sold to Cossette in 2010, they collaborated with Diagram's Daniel Robichaud, who suggested enhancing transparency in Canada's mortgage market, a concept they embraced. In 2018, joined by mortgage expert Chase Belair and partner Damien Charbonneau, they established nesto. A product was launched in 2019. In June 2020, nesto raised CA$11.5 million in Series A funding. In June 2021, the company raised CA$76 million in a Series B round. In December 2022, nesto secured CAD $80 million (USD $58 million) in Series C funding. By the end of 2022, the company had raised over CA$165 million. Investors include the Québec government (through Investissement Québec) BMO Capital Partners, the National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture capital arm, NAventures and Portage Ventures, and Power Corp. By June 2021, nesto had partnered with 11 mortgage providers, including Toronto-Dominion Bank. In January 2021, it announced a partnership with real estate agency Proprio Direct. In May 2021, Equitable Bank launched a digital mortgage service in partnership with nesto. In December 2022, IGM Financial Inc. purchased a minority stake in nesto and partnered with the company for the launch of its Mortgage Cloud service, stating that nesto would provide white label mortgage services to IG clients. In March 2023, it was announced that nesto received the Mortgage Lender of the Year Award from the Canadian Lenders Association (CLA). In December 2023, Canada Life announced that the company had entered into a partnership with Nesto to transfer the service and administration of its residential mortgages starting in January. The move followed Canada Life's decision to exit the residential mortgage market in 2022, with Nesto taking over the management of existing and maturing mortgages. As of June 2021, 50% of Nesto's mortgage volume was in Quebec, 40% in Ontario, and 10% elsewhere in the country. According to La Presse, Nesto ranked among the top third of international companies on a scale of rapidly growing companies in December 2022, with the highest likelihood of expanding in the next 18 to 24 months. In April 2023, nesto was the national lender with the lowest rate. According to the Financial Post, in 2021, nesto had a Net Promoter Score of 77, more than double the average score for banks and financial services. In 2023 Deloitte recognized nesto as one of Canada's fastest growing tech companies based on what it described as nesto's “rapid revenue growth, entrepreneurial spirit, and bold innovation".

Services
nesto is an online lender that allows users to find and compare mortgage rates. Their platform automates parts of the mortgage application and underwriting and provides mortgage and refinancing rates that are more competitive than those offered by conventional banks and brokers. The company claims that owing to the platform's digitalized workflow, every nesto broker has the capability to manage tenfold the standard industry volume. Users can browse the full list of choices available to them in the market. The application process is handled entirely online. Access to nesto's product requires a credit score of at least 650. In June 2022, nesto introduced a 150-day rate hold, allowing customers to lock in a rate as protection against potential future increases and encouraging them to move their existing mortgages to nesto. The company noted rising renewal and new-mortgage numbers. Their 150-day rate hold is the longest in Canada. nesto is based in Montreal, and licensed and operating in all Canadian jurisdictions.