News outlets have been reporting this week on new regulation to enforce fair treatment of customers and clarity on charges by banks. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has taken over the Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB) as the regulatory body for Customer Services Standard and, unlike the BCSB, it will have the power to impose fines if there are breaches in their conduct.

What the new rules say:

- A bank cannot refuse a refund on a fraudulent transaction just because the genuine card and PIN was used
- Savings account providers must give customers two months’ notice before reducing interest rates
- Unexpected debits made from your credit or debit card, such as from a car-hire firm, must be refunded by your bank
- From January 2012, all electronic payments must be credited to an account by the following business day. Until then, this can take up to three days

The rules are still not sufficiently clear for consumers to understand what their rights are, however, and without simple guidelines from where to draw information, they leave too much room for interpretation.
More importantly, these FSA rules cover savings and instant access accounts but don’t apply to unsecured loans, bank overdrafts or credit cards – the areas where the most unspecified and unclear charges often occur. 

Wonga is committed to transparency, and with our easy loan calculator you are always aware from the beginning of exactly how much you will pay back.

No wonder that Wonga customers love our service and send us amazing feedback – they can be in charge of their finances, avoid the pesky hidden charges and take a flexible loan that matches their requirements, not those of bank managers.

Payday loans have started to take off in the UK over the past year and the term payday loan, or payday advance is becoming a more familiar phrase, especially when searching for fast cash online.

A payday loan is a relatively small loan, usually of a few hundred pounds, which is taken until your next payday. You normally have to repay it with your next pay cheque, or over several paydays, regardless of when you apply. And you will normally be charged a pretty hefty fee per £100 borrowed - typically between £20 and £30.

It’s basically emergency cash and payday loans have their place. They are often cheaper than bank fees for unauthorised borrowing, for example, but Wonga provides a great alternative for urgent funds without a long-term commitment.

Compare the cost of a payday loan with a cash advance from Wonga.com

Wonga also provides short-term cash advances online, but in a much more flexible and speedy way. For starters, the entire process is online - no faxing, postage or call centres - and you can apply any time of day or night, 365 days a year. You will receive an instant answer on your screen and we even guarantee to send cash to approved applicants’ bank accounts within 60 minutes.

Our service is also much more flexible than a payday loan. Wonga allows you to choose exactly how much cash you want to borrow and the cost of our online loans is calculated for you, based on how many days you need it for. The shorter the loan, the lower the cost - it’s that simple.

Flexible cash advances from Wonga

You can see how our flexible pricing compares with a typical fixed fee for a payday loan over 30 days. In most cases a Wonga loan works out better value and you can even repay us early with no catches or fees to worry about.

Typical 2689% APR

(Find out why the APR is so big!)

As usual, it’s taken pressure from a regulator to make high street banks change their ways! As reported by the Times, the OFT has been calling for more transparency about charges, particularly for going over your bank overdraft limit. With a multitude of potential fees and some fixed charges running up to £20 per DAY, it’s about time they made it easier for people to work out the true cost of accessing emergency cash. Here’s an extract from the article…

Britain’s banks have today bowed to pressure from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and agreed to make their current account charges more transparent. They have also promised to make it easier for customers to switch from one bank to another.

Their decision follows publication of the OFT’s latest study into the £8 billion market, which highlighted three problem areas: lack of clarity over charges, difficulty in switching banks and concern over the way banks charged for unauthorised overdrafts. The OFT said the existing system did not work well for consumers.

To improve clarity over their charges banks have undertaken to provide an annual summary of the cost of their account for each customer. This is designed to help customers work out if they are getting value for money. Banks have also agreed to make charges prominent on monthly statements, provide average credit and debit balances, which will help consumers to assess the possible benefits of switching banks, and provide a range of illustrative overdraft charges for different scenarios.

Perhaps they should take a leaf out of Wonga’s book - we calculate the total cost to repay every time you apply for a loan online and there are no hidden catches to worry about. Indeed, our flexible loans are not only a simpler and crystal clear source of emergency cash, but often a lot cheaper too.

If you’re looking online for a fast cash advance, the chances are that you could do with some financial assistance in a flash - Wonga can help! That’s because we guarantee the breath-taking speed of our instant loan service.

There are loads of internet loan companies offering sameday cash, quick loans and ‘instant’ money for unforeseen expenses, but many wouldn’t know a fast loan if it zoomed up and stared them in the face.

Sadly, as with many other areas of life, fast cash advance services aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be and don’t deliver on the promises made up front. And what use is a fast cash loan when it’s not actually very fast? The answer’s not a lot when there’s something you need cash for right there and then!

Sameday can sometimes turn out to be several days, or you’ll need to wait until Monday. But Wonga guarantees to send cash to your bank within 60 minutes of your online application being approved (which only takes a second too). In fact, because we deliver on our promises, we’ll reduce your loan repayment by a tenner if we don’t live up to our usual standards.

Typical APR 2689%

It’s a big claim to make, but Wonga was highly commended by the judges of the International Business Awards this week - in the category of Best New Service or Product in Financial Services. So we’re certainly one of them according to them!

It’s another award to add to our growing Wonga wall of fame, but we never rest on our laurels or get any less of a buzz from such recognition. It’s always lovely to get some a pat on the back from time to time.

If you have never tried our short term loan service before, give it a try next time you need some urgent funds and be your own judge of whether we’re the best in the world.

Inspired by a recent article by the Times, here are a few tips for the so-called Credit Crunch Generation -students who are graduating into a world where jobs are increasingly hard to come by and banks aren’t always willing to help. As the Times points out:

As the UK jobless total soared past the 2.26m mark this month, David Blanchflower, the economist, said unemployment among young people had become a “national crisis”. The number of under-25s claiming jobseeker’s allowance has increased by more than 200,000 to 456,000 in the past 12 months, and almost 20% of those aged 16 to 25 are unemployed.

Grim reading indeed. So here are some suggestions for young people keen to keep their finances in good order while looking for that big break…

1. Check the terms of your current bank account, especially where overdrafts are concerned. You might not benefit from student deals for much longer, but see what you can hang onto and switch to a graduate, rather than regular account. Beware of huge overdraft fees should you go over your limit too - your bank is unlikely to be as understanding now you’ve no longer got student status. That means you could be charged as much as £20 per day for slipping over your limit with a regular account!

2. Consider moving back home. OK, so you’ve just been enjoying a taste of freedom, and the last thing you want to do is sponge off your folks, but you can come to an agreement about helping with bills and if you can find any kind of bridging employment you’ll actually be able to save for a deposit much faster than if you’re paying full rent. It could be a compromise worth making and setting a defined time period gives you  a clear goal. You won’t have to worry about repaying your student loan until you’re earning national average wage. 

3. Get into good habits right away and start a budget. It’s easy with a free service like ours and will make you feel more in control of your cash, even if you’re on a limited income for the time being. 

4. Always do your research when considering credit of any kind. A flexible Wonga loan can help with urgent expenses and means you’re not saddled with long term debt for example, but it wouldn’t be a good way of financing a car purchase. Likewise, a traditional bank loan may seem appealing but will require a long term commitment. There’s more information about borrowing and debt on our website.

The team has been all smiles this week, after Wonga provided its 100,000th short term loan. Not bad considering we launched the site less than a year ago!

Our congratulations go to KT, of Chester le Street, who received our 100,000th cash advance and wins a year’s interest-free use of Wonga’s award-winning service. Lucky lady. 

So why have we helped so many happy customers in such a relatively short space of time? Well we set out with a simple yet challenging idea - to offer UK consumers a short term and transparent alternative to traditional lenders.

We all have Wonga moments, when an unexpected or urgent expense springs up from nowhere - and it always seems to happen at a bad time. We help people solve short term cash flow problems without requiring a long term commitment, and we do it in the most flexible and responsible way possible.

People love the convenience, control and complete transparency we offer. It’s perhaps best summed up by a few of our customers themselves…

 Hi, I must take time to thank you for accepting my recent application and for the amazing speed of the transfer (30 minutes - has to be a record!). I hope very much to be able to use the service again, especially when a direct debit is due a couple of days before pay day and the banks are their usually helpful self (not!). Love your website too - refreshing and well laid out. Best wishes to all your staff.  

AF, Liverpool

 

 Hello guys/girls. I’ve actually already repaid my loan early, but I just wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ for making this service available. I used it to cover an unexpected cost and, to be honest, I could’ve asked my bank, but your service was just SO much easier AND quicker. And because I repaid it quickly, it cost me next to nothing! You guys are DIAMONDS! And I always think it’s nice to say ‘thanks’ when someone does me a good turn.  

Martin T, Barnsley

 

 Please accept my thanks to yourself and your company. I was at first dubious about using an online service in this way and did not expect the level of service I received. You did exactly what you said you would and in a very efficient manner.  The cost of using your service compared to other providers is night and day. I did not have to worry about cheques clearing, high costs, uncertainty and of course wasted time.  A first class service, more service sector companies should take a leaf out of your book

James K, Shrophsire

We’ve become the country’s only 24/7 lender, guaranteeing cash deposits within an hour around the clock. So when you’re caught short and need some fast cash for a few days or weeks, give Wonga’s online application a go. You can decide exactly how much money you need and then determine the cost by selecting when to repay us.

We can’t guarantee approval, because we’re only interested in helping people who can afford the service, but you’ll get an instant answer either way.

Typical 2689% APR

Apply for a Wonga loan before the end of June and you may get more than you bargained for. If you’re accepted, not only will the cash hit your account within an hour as normal, but you might just be named one of our lucky ‘100k’ winners too.

As the Financial Times recently reported, we are due to provide our 100,000th Wonga loan before the end of this month. And that’s despite the fact we launched the Wonga site less than a year ago! Our service has proved even more popular than we imagined and it’s partly thanks to our happy customers spreading the word.

To celebrate this milestone, we’ve decided to create some exciting prizes. The person who is accepted for our 100,000th cash advance will receive interest-free Wonga loans for an entire year! Subject to our usual approval process, they will have instant cash advances at their disposal for 12 whole months and won’t pay a penny in interest or fees.

Not only that, but we’ll also wipe our charges for the next 50 successful applicants as a one-off celebration. You can find out more and check out the T&Cs at our 100,000 loans page. So good luck if you are using Wonga this month, but please remember that a chance-based celebration like this isn’t a reason to apply for credit you don’t need in the first place.  

Thanks again to all our customer for helping us hit this impressive mark sometime soon…

Typical 2689% APR

In the world of business you can sometimes get bogged down in the detail and day-to-day tasks. Suited corporate types might say it’s a case of ‘missing the big picture.’ But at Wonga we continually try to remember the reason for our existence, which is to make our customers happy. Most companies these days make claims along these lines, but not many walk the walk.  

Happy Wonga customers = happy Wonga staff, so we love hearing from people who have benefitted from one of our flexible loans. We get so many nice comments we can’t possibly share them all on our customer testimonials page, but we’d like to post another small selection of recent feedback from customers here. 

The following extracts were given anonymously, so we’re not going to attribute them to names, but each one is a genuine comment that gave us a big grin!

Keep up the good work, very very happy with service.

You are simple, friendly and easy to contact.

A very satisfied Wonga customer and I would happily recommend this service to friends and family.

It’s perfect x

Your website is easy to use, friendly staff and no messing around which I love.

Happy with your service in all aspects!

Excellent service. cannot praise it high enough.

I am perfectly happy with Wonga and I’m grateful for helping me out.

Fantastic Service. I am a returning loyal customer.

I think your service is excellent and so quick. I think the interest rate is good that’s why I use it.

Avoiding bank jargon can naturally be tricky if you’re trying to get a loan from a bank, but there is a straight-talking alternative in the shape of an online cash advance from Wonga. In fact our website recently won an Interactive Media Award for its simple and customer-friendly design.

The entire Wonga service is jargon-free and we even provide a jargon buster for any bank type jargon you might encounter elsewhere. If you don’t rate industry awards, just take a look around Wonga.com for yourself or check out what existing Wonga customers have to say about the service.

Most of our customers say they love the simplicity of the service (amongst other things!), so if you want to avoid bank jargon you know where to look for a totally transparent solution to any short term cash flow problems in the future.