uno, a self-described "digital mortgage service", is standing by its positioning as "independent and unbiased", despite one weekend metro media analysis questioning the transparency of the firm's ties with Westpac.An emerging fintech disruptor, uno has "helped customers", rather than funded, around A$360 million in home loans since launching 12 months ago with 18 lenders on its panel. Its pitch includes the unusual promise in the mortgage market that "if you find a better deal, we'll pay the difference for a year."Westpac, the Financial Review reported on Saturday, now owns around 91 per cent of uno's ordinary shares, with Westpac having "invested almost A$28 million into the business over the past 18 months." The AFR worked out the bank's holding from ASIC disclosures, with the bank tipping in equity as recently as late April. Westpac took its first stake, undisclosed at the time, back in September 2016.Westpac defined uno in materials for its March 2017 half year results as "a new mortgage broker disrupting the traditional market by providing consumers with the ability to search, compare and apply for a home loan digitally, from a choice of 20 lenders."The company's pitch is that it has improved on both the comparison site model and the broker model. It is one of a range of newer names in mortgage origination riding the fintech fad, HashChing being another.Vincent Turner, chief executive of uno, told Banking Day yesterday the AFR's study did not allow for staff and executive equity, but he did not confirm Westpac's present stake.At its website uno cites its ownership as comprising "a number of committed investors, including Westpac."Turner, in an email, elaborated on the capital management strategy for a start up informed by several years in the US fintech startup scene, where in 2011 he founded and led Planwise. This business has since morphed into uno."We started this journey with Westpac as a partner," he wrote."I know to effect long term change in an industry you need to have industry at the table. Having a major bank involved early on has allowed us to move a lot faster."My experience in the US was that you need to have decent capital to execute a proper financial services strategy. It's very hard to execute without solid tech, product, digital marketing service and licencing."This means you need a decent sized team from the start and enough capital to sustain yourself early on. All the stand out companies we think of today from the US took this route, doing high value raises from the start."For now, uno is spreading its new business flow widely, with Westpac as yet doing no better than any other major bank."We put two thirds of our loans with non-majors," Turner said."The one third with majors is split pretty evenly between the three we deal with."So, given our business is of being a mortgage broker, it's pretty laughable to suggest that we aren't operating in an independent and unbiased manner when you look at those splits."