Tella
Tella is a New Zealand-based digital mortgage broker operating an online platform matching consumers with home loans from 20+ bank and non-bank lenders. It serves first home buyers, refinancers, and property investors nationwide through direct, partner, and referral channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Tella does
Tella (New Zealand) Limited is a privately held, Auckland-headquartered digital mortgage broker operating an online platform that matches New Zealand consumers with home loan products from over 20 bank and non-bank lenders, including ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, and Heartland. The company serves first home buyers, existing homeowners seeking refinancing, and property investors through a hybrid digital-plus-adviser model, and holds a Financial Markets Authority licence (FSP1001727). It is led by co-founder and CEO Andrew Chambers, with no disclosed external venture capital or private equity investment, and has been recognised through the NZ Mortgage Awards Innovator of the Year and New Brokerage of the Year (2024) and the Canstar Innovation Excellence Award (2023).
Tella's core product is the MyDash home loan application platform, which supports a 100% digital application flow available 24/7, including document upload, lender servicing-based affordability and repayment calculators, application progress tracking, and integrations with credit bureaux (Centrix, Equifax, Illion) and property valuation providers (Valocity, Cotality). Supporting products include free online calculators for affordability, repayment, first home deposit and refinance scenarios, a daily-updated interest rate comparison tool across 20+ lenders, and a co-branded "OneRoof Home Loans" portal launched in partnership with NZME's OneRoof property site in November 2024. The technology stack also includes an embeddable calculator widget used by real estate partners on their own listing pages.
Tella earns no fees from end customers. Revenue is generated entirely through lender commissions: 0.55% to 1.50% upfront on settled loans depending on the lender, plus optional trail commissions of 0.15% to 0.20% annually on outstanding balances from some lenders. Distribution spans direct-to-consumer digital application, a real estate agent partnership programme that pays $300 per settled loan and embeds calculators on listing pages, a customer referral programme paying $250 per settlement, and the OneRoof media partnership. In mid-2024 the company expanded into KiwiSaver advisory following the hire of former Canstar New Zealand General Manager Jose George.
Tella firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tella
- Legal name
- Tella (New Zealand) Limited
- Website
- https://tella.co.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tella is a New Zealand-based digital mortgage broker operating an online platform matching consumers with home loans from 20+ bank and non-bank lenders. It serves first home buyers, refinancers, and property investors nationwide through direct, partner, and referral channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tella industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Mortgage Brokerage
- NAICS
- Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310)
- SIC
- Loan Brokers (6163)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Residential Mortgage Brokers (Purchase & Refinance) (FSALABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Consumer Direct / Online Mortgage Origination (FSALAAAB), Mortgage & Loan Introducers (Residential & Commercial) (FSAEAMAA), Mortgage Lead Generation & Marketing Intermediaries (FSALABAI)
Keywords
Where Tella is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Auckland
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tella business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Lender commissions: Tella receives upfront commissions from lenders when loans are drawn down, ranging from 0.55% to 1.50% depending on the lender. Some lenders also pay trail commissions on ongoing loan balances.
- Trail commissions: Some lenders pay ongoing trail commissions (typically 0.15-0.20% annually) on the outstanding loan balance as long as the customer remains with that lender.
- Referral fees from partners: Real estate agents in the partnership program earn $300 per settled home loan referred to Tella. This is effectively a marketing/referral cost covered by Tella through lender commissions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free mortgage advisory service for home buyers |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | $250 referral reward for customers |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | $300 per settled loan for real estate partners |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Tella product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tella is a New Zealand digital mortgage broker that matches home loan customers with products from 20+ bank and non-bank lenders through a 100% online application platform supported by qualified mortgage advisers. The service is free for consumers, with revenue generated from upfront and trail commissions paid by lender partners when loans settle. Supporting tools include affordability, repayment, first home deposit, and refinance calculators, plus an embeddable calculator distributed through real estate agent partners.
Product overview
Tella is a New Zealand digital mortgage broker offering an online home loan platform that combines technology with mortgage advisory services. The core product is the Home Loan Application Platform (MyDash), which enables users to apply for home loans online 24/7 across 20+ bank and non-bank lenders including ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, and Heartland Bank. Supporting the platform are digital tools including affordability, repayment, first home deposit, and refinance calculators, plus an interest rate comparison tool. Tella also offers business partnerships through an embeddable calculator for real estate agent websites and a referral program. The company has expanded to include KiwiSaver advisory services and recently launched a co-branded portal with OneRoof (NZME) for property buyers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Home Loan Application Platform (MyDash) End-to-end digital mortgage brokerage product that allows New Zealand home buyers, refinancers, and property investors to apply for home loans online 24/7, upload documents, and track application progress with adviser support from 20+ lenders including ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, and Heartland Bank.
- OneRoof Home Loans Portal Co-branded standalone home loan portal integrated into the OneRoof property website, allowing OneRoof users to apply for Tella-managed home loans as part of their property search journey.
Quantifiable outcome
- $250 referral reward for customers; $300 per settlement for real estate partners
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Tella
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Tella technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature4 records
Tella partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OneRoof (NZME)coreOneRoof, a property portal owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME), launched a digital home loan portal powered by Tella. The partnership allows OneRoof users to access Tella's mortgage services directly through the property website, enabling a seamless property search to home loan application experience.
- Real Estate Agents (Partnership Plan)coreReal estate agents can embed Tella calculators on their listing pages, pre-qualify buyers with affordability checks, and earn $300 for each referred client whose loan settles. The partnership helps agents close sales faster by ensuring buyer finance readiness.
- ANZcoreMajor New Zealand bank providing home loan products. Tella receives 0.85% upfront commission and $150 refix fee when loans settle through ANZ.
- ASBcoreMajor New Zealand bank. Commission structure: 0.85% upfront, $150 refix fee.
- BNZcoreMajor New Zealand bank. Commission structure: 0.55% upfront, 0.15% trail commission.
- WestpaccoreMajor New Zealand bank. Commission structure: 0.60% upfront, 0.20% trail commission.
- KiwibankcoreNew Zealand government-owned bank. Commission structure: 0.55% upfront, 0.15% trail commission.
- Heartland BankminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 1.50% upfront, no trail commission.
- SBS BankminorMutual bank. Commission structure: 0.80% upfront, $150 refix fee.
- The Co-operative BankminorNew Zealand co-operative bank. Commission structure: 0.70% upfront, $150 refix fee.
- Avanti FinanceminorNon-bank lender specializing in personal and home loans.
- Basecorp FinanceminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 1.00% upfront.
- Liberty FinancialminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 0.60% upfront, 0.15% trail commission.
- Pepper MoneyminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 0.60% upfront, 0.15% trail commission.
- ResimacminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 0.60% upfront, 0.15% trail commission.
- Southern Cross PartnersminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 1.00% upfront.
- First Mortgage TrustminorNon-bank lender. Commission structure: 1.00% upfront.
- KiwiSaver providersminorPartnership with KiwiSaver providers (Amanah, AMP, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Booster, Fisher Funds, Generate, Juno, Kiwi Wealth, KiwiWrap, Kōura, Lifestages, Mercer, Milford, Pathfinder, Quay Street, Select, Simplicity, Summer, Superlife, Westpac) to assist customers with first home withdrawals.
- Kāinga OracoreGovernment housing agency. Tella helps customers access Kāinga Ora schemes including First Home Loan (low deposit loans underwritten by Kāinga Ora) and assists with First Home Partner shared ownership applications.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Tella competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Lendi: Australia's largest digital mortgage broker, offering online home loan comparison across multiple lenders. Highly comparable to Tella's model, though operating in the Australian market. Useful as a regional benchmark for digital mortgage brokerage scale.
- Habito: UK digital mortgage broker offering online comparison and broker services across multiple lenders. Comparable business model to Tella, providing a benchmark for digital-first mortgage advice in a different geographic market.
Direct peers
- Loan Market NZ: One of the largest mortgage broker networks in New Zealand, connecting borrowers with lenders across a broad panel. Comparable to Tella as a multi-lender retail mortgage broker, though more traditional/branch-led in distribution.
- Mortgagerates.co.nz: New Zealand online mortgage comparison and brokerage platform providing rate comparison and broker services. Direct competitor to Tella in digital mortgage intermediation across multiple NZ lenders.
- Squirrel Mortgages: New Zealand-based digital mortgage broker offering online home loan applications across multiple lenders. Direct competitor to Tella in the NZ consumer-direct mortgage brokerage space with a similar tech-enabled business model.
- NZ Home Loans: Established New Zealand mortgage broker operating a large adviser network across the country. Comparable to Tella as a multi-lender retail mortgage broker, with deeper historical presence but more traditional service model.
Broad incumbents
- Kiwibank: New Zealand government-owned bank offering home loan products directly and through brokers. Tella partners with Kiwibank but also competes for the same first home buyer and refinance customer segments.
- ANZ (goDirect / online home loans): One of New Zealand's largest banks, offering direct home loan applications online and through brokers. Tella is a partner of ANZ but also competes with its direct channel for consumer mortgage origination.
Emerging players
- BetterTrack: New Zealand digital mortgage broker offering online home loan comparison and application. Comparable to Tella as a tech-enabled alternative broker, though smaller in scale and brand recognition.
Others
- Openmarkets: New Zealand digital investment platform simplifying access to share markets with educational content and online tools. Adjacent to Tella in being a digital-first NZ financial intermediary with a content-driven acquisition model, though serving investment rather than home loan customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Tella social profiles
Digital presenceTella compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Tella financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tella leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Tella funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tella M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tella
What does Tella do?
Tella is a New Zealand digital mortgage broker that matches home loan customers with products from 20+ bank and non-bank lenders through a 100% online application platform supported by qualified mortgage advisers. The service is free for consumers, with revenue generated from upfront and trail commissions paid by lender partners when loans settle. Supporting tools include affordability, repayment, first home deposit, and refinance calculators, plus an embeddable calculator distributed through real estate agent partners.
Is Tella a public or private company?
Tella is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Tella founded?
Tella was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tella based?
Tella is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Tella make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Lender commissions are the primary driver. The others are trail commissions and referral fees from partners.
Who are Tella's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Lendi and Habito. Direct peers are Loan Market NZ, Mortgagerates.co.nz, Squirrel Mortgages and NZ Home Loans. Broad incumbents are Kiwibank and ANZ (goDirect / online home loans). BetterTrack is listed as an emerging player. Openmarkets is listed as an others.
Does Tella have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tella.
What industry is Tella in?
Tella's product category is Digital Mortgage Brokerage. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSALABAA, Retail Residential Mortgage Brokers (Purchase & Refinance), with a secondary code of FSALAAAB, Consumer Direct / Online Mortgage Origination. Its NAICS code is 522310 and its SIC code is 6163.