American Banker · Jun 2023
Explains Pesto’s secured Mastercard, its 29.99% APR and fee structure, the value-based collateral model, and the company’s early focus on Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 30, 2026
Overview
Pesto (legal name PingLend, Inc.) is a San Francisco-based fintech company building an asset-backed secured credit card and card-program infrastructure. Its flagship product is Pesto Mastercard, which lets customers secure a credit line with valuables or cash and also gives brands and lenders a way to launch secured credit programs.
Primary product
Pesto Mastercard / Pesto Collateral Operating System
Founded
2020
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Team size
1-10
Work style
Remote
Industry
Technology, Information and Internet
Sub-industry
Fintech / asset-backed secured credit cards
Offices
San Francisco, California, United States
Business model
B2B fintech infrastructure / card-program platform
B2C secured credit card issuer
interest and fee revenue from card and lending activity
Funding
People & investors
Work & culture
Small, mission-driven fintech team focused on making credit more accessible. Public hiring signals point to a remote-friendly U.S. policy, engineering-heavy roles, and a strong compliance/infrastructure orientation.
Work style
Remote
Compensation
Public salary signal found for a Senior Software Engineer role: $160,000/year. No broader compensation bands were publicly available.
Product & market
Pricing
Not publicly disclosed for B2B; consumer card is marketed as a secured Mastercard with rates/fees disclosed in card materials, including interest and fees when balances are not paid in full.
Differentiators
- —Secures credit lines with valuables or cash rather than requiring a traditional credit score
- —Positions itself as an alternative to pawn and payday loans
- —Claims 0% interest on purchases when paid in full monthly
- —Can launch secured card programs in weeks rather than years
- —Supports custom-branded or off-the-shelf card programs
- —Handles underwriting, compliance, card issuance, and related infrastructure
Technology
React
React Native
Elixir
Figma
AMP
GitHub
Docker
Kubernetes
Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Zero Trust
distributed systems
smart contracts
cryptographically secure transactional ledgers
custom monitoring and telemetry
mobile payments infrastructure
APIs
Customers
banks
credit unions
lenders
brokerages
underbanked consumers
credit-thin consumers
people with limited or no credit score
Competitors
pawn lenders
payday lenders
title lenders
traditional secured credit card issuers
other asset-backed lending platforms
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
≈$1.2M ARR (external estimate)
Latest news
Crowdfund Insider · May 2023
Covers Pesto’s launch, its alternative to pawn lending, and the $11M round with investors including Activant Capital, Plural, Sozo Ventures, Commerce Ventures, and Y Combinator.
FinSMEs · May 2023
Reports the $11M financing round and the company’s plan to expand its customer base across the U.S., initially in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
PYMNTS · May 2023
Details the product flow for getting a Pesto Mastercard and reiterates the alternative-to-pawn-loans positioning and the funding announcement.
TechCrunch · May 2023
Profiles founder James Savoldelli, explains the customer journey, and notes the company’s Y Combinator background and $11M Series A.
Jobs and careers at Pesto
0 jobs at Pesto
No open positions
Check back later for new openings