OCAL Financial outlines credit and lender-routing system

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2026) - OCAL Financial Inc. (TSXV: OCAL) ("OCAL" or the "Company") today explained the credit and lender-routing system at the core of its approval-first process, and how it lets the Company serve a wider range of borrowers than a traditional dealership submission can.

A large and growing share of Canadians do not fit neatly into a bank's credit box. Gig workers, newcomers to the country and people with thin credit files are often turned away by submissions that look only at a bureau score, even when they can comfortably afford a vehicle. As the workforce shifts toward contract and self-employment, and as immigration adds people who have not yet built a Canadian credit history, that group is growing rather than shrinking. It is not a niche. It is a meaningful part of the market, and it is exactly where OCAL's approach is designed to help.

OCAL's system scores how well each deal fits each lender, then sends the file to the lenders most likely to approve it on reasonable terms. It looks past the bureau score alone, adding income stability and other signals alongside traditional credit data, so a capable borrower with a short or unusual credit history is judged on more than a single number. It is built to meet anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer requirements and lender-grade credit standards, and it runs machine-learning checks that flag anomalies and reduce risk for the lender.

It is worth being clear about what OCAL does and does not do. OCAL does not lend, it does not underwrite, and it does not hold the loans or take on credit-default risk. Its role is to prepare a clean, lender-ready file and route it to the right financing partner. That distinction matters for investors: OCAL earns from arranging financing and selling vehicles and related products, without carrying the credit risk that sits with a lender. It is a fee-and-margin business, not a balance-sheet lender.

Getting the fit right before submission has a direct effect on the economics. It means fewer declines, fewer repeat credit pulls, and a higher share of applications that turn into funded deals. Each of those is a lever on the same funnel: a lead that is well matched the first time costs less to convert than one that is declined and re-submitted, and lenders value a partner whose files are clean and well-structured.

The system does not operate on its own. It works alongside OCAL's multi-lender network and its vehicle-sourcing engine, so an approval flows straight into finding a vehicle that fits the approved structure, rather than the other way around, where a customer picks a car and then hopes the financing lands. Approval first, vehicle second, is only possible because the credit layer and the sourcing layer talk to each other.

There is a fairness dimension here as well. A capable borrower who happens to be self-employed or new to the country should not be turned away because a single score does not capture their situation. Looking at income stability and other real-world signals gives those borrowers a fair hearing, and it does so without asking a lender to take on more risk than it wants, because the file is matched to a lender whose criteria already fit.

Serving that segment well is also a competitive advantage. Many dealerships treat non-prime customers as an afterthought, or hand them a single take-it-or-leave-it option. A company built to route those customers to the right lender can win business others do not compete hard for, in a part of the market that is large and, by most measures, still growing.

As OCAL grows and gathers more data on which files succeed with which lenders, the routing is designed to get better over time, which is one more way the business is built to improve as it scales.

"A better fit before submission means fewer wasted pulls and a cleaner file for the lender," said Mehdi Moghareh, Chief Executive Officer of OCAL. "We are not a lender. We are the layer that gets a well-built deal in front of the right lender the first time."

"Building for gig workers, newcomers and thin-file customers is the fair thing to do, and it is also a large part of the market the traditional process leaves behind," added Mr. Moghareh. "Serving it well is both good business and good for the customer."

About OCAL

OCAL Financial Inc. is an asset-light, AI-native virtual automotive dealership and vehicle-finance platform. Operating remotely and licensed in British Columbia and Alberta, OCAL moves customers from application to approval, vehicle matching, digital contracting and delivery in a single workflow. Rather than carrying owned inventory, OCAL sources each vehicle only after a customer is approved, drawing on the OPENLANE auction network and select partners. OCAL earns revenue from vehicle sales and related finance and protection products, and does not hold consumer loans or assume credit-default risk. Its technology stack, which includes workflow orchestration, a lender-routing credit-intelligence system, voice AI, and a centralized business-intelligence system, is built specifically for automotive transactions.

To learn more about OCAL, visit www.ocalfinancial.ca .

Investor Contact

Investor Relations, OCAL Financial Inc. Matthew Friesen, Chairman · Mehdi Moghareh, Chief Executive Officer general@ocal.ca · 1 (604) 687-7765 · ocalfinancial.ca

Cautionary Notes

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange Requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative. TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuer's business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuer's prospective financial performance or financial position. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: the Company's business plans, technology development, and the expansion into Ontario, Quebec, and the U.S. market (Washington, Arizona, and Nevada); and, where applicable, proposed acquisitions and related appointments. To develop the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to: prevailing market conditions; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and the ability of the Company to execute and achieve its business objectives. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to: adverse market conditions; changes in general economic, business and political conditions; changes in applicable laws and regulations; compliance with extensive government regulation; reliance on key and qualified personnel; risks associated with the technology industry in general; and the risk factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Filing Statement. The foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/309006

Newsfile Corp.

August 11, 2026 - 5:15 AM PDT

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