Terms of service.

What Cinch is

Cinch is a software-as-a-service platform that helps US mortgage brokers collect documents from borrowers and manage loan files. We provide the application, infrastructure, encryption, and audit capabilities described on the security page.

Who can use Cinch

Cinch is intended for licensed US mortgage brokers and their authorized teammates. To create an account, you must be at least 18 years old, authorized to bind your brokerage, and comply with applicable mortgage-licensing rules.

We may refuse, suspend, or terminate accounts at our discretion if we have reason to believe the account is being used in violation of these terms or applicable law.

Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• Use Cinch only for legitimate mortgage origination purposes.
• Keep your credentials confidential and enable MFA on every broker account (we require it).
• Obtain any borrower consents required by your jurisdiction before uploading borrower data into Cinch.
• Promptly notify us at security@cinch.app if you suspect a security incident.
• Honor borrower requests under applicable privacy laws (GLBA, CCPA, state laws). Borrowers can self-service some of these via the portal export.
• Keep the records the law requires your brokerage to keep, and tell us if your state requires a longer period than our retention schedule.

Pricing and payment

Pricing is per-loan-closed for Starter and Pro tiers; custom pricing for Enterprise. See the pricing page for current rates.

Your first 5 loans on a Starter or Pro plan are free; we don't require a credit card to begin. After the trial, we bill at the close of each loan.

Data ownership

You own your customer data. Borrowers own their personal data. Cinch acts as a service provider/processor on your behalf.

We don't sell, lease, or share your customer data for marketing, training, or any other purpose outside delivering the platform. Specifically: we do not use borrower documents to train AI models.

When you cancel, we return your data and delete it on the schedule in our retention policy. See Data retention.

Data retention

We keep each kind of record for the period in our written retention schedule, then delete it securely. Automatic deletion on this schedule is still being built, and will be running before the first record reaches the end of its period.

By default we keep loan files, uploaded documents and borrower messages for 5 years after the loan is closed, withdrawn or denied. Where a brokerage's state requires longer (Vermont requires 6 years), we keep its records for that longer period. That meets the record-keeping minimums we know of for a broker's loan file: for example, 3 to 6 years under state licensing laws, and 25 months after the applicant is told of the decision under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act when the broker takes part in that decision. A loan still open after 1 year without activity, or when its brokerage closes, counts as withdrawn from then, so its period starts on that date. A draft that never became an application is kept for 1 year after its last change.

We keep the audit log for 7 years from each event, and an entry about a loan file at least as long as the file itself. That period is our own security policy, not a legal requirement.

Backups and earlier versions of uploaded files are kept for at most 30 days, so a deleted record is gone from them within about 30 days. Once we know of an investigation, enforcement action or lawsuit, we keep the records it covers until it ends, even past their period.

When a brokerage cancels, we first give it a copy of its loan files and audit log. We then keep its records until their period in our retention schedule ends and delete them securely; a loan still open at cancellation counts as withdrawn that day. A brokerage can ask us to keep its records longer, but not to delete borrower records before their period ends. Your brokerage stays responsible for keeping the records the law requires it to keep.

An owner can delete a brokerage in Settings right away only if it never held borrower records, such as a trial with only sample loans; its stored files go with it and leave our backups within about 30 days. A brokerage that holds loan records is closed through support instead, and its records are kept until their period ends.

Our full retention schedule, with the rule behind each period, is available on request at privacy@cinch.app.

Service availability

We aim for 99.9% uptime measured monthly. Planned maintenance is announced in advance via email + the in-app maintenance banner.

Cinch isn't suitable as a system-of-record for transactions requiring real-time guarantees (e.g. closing settlements). Treat us as the document-collection + AI-validation layer between you and your LOS.

Disclaimers

Cinch validates documents using AI. The validation is a quality-of-life feature; you remain responsible for verifying documents meet underwriting requirements. AI validation is provided “as is” without warranty.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Cinch and its sub-processors aren't liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the platform. Our aggregate liability in any 12-month period is capped at the fees you paid us in that period.

Termination

You can terminate your Cinch account at any time. We can terminate accounts for material breach of these terms (with notice + opportunity to cure where commercially reasonable).

For 30 days after termination you can download your data or ask us for a full copy. After that you can still ask for a copy until the records are deleted on our retention schedule.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced via email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Disputes are resolved in the courts of Delaware unless the parties agree to arbitration.