Well there are only a few hours left of 2008 and we’re heading into 2009 on a high. The lovely folks at Red Herring have just informed us that Wonga has made it into their prestigious Global 200 roll of honour. We already appeared in their top 100 tech companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, so now we’ve been shortlisted for the top 100 in the whole wide world!

The accolade is deserved recognition for everyone in the team and caps a fantastic year for Wonga. We’ve been working hard to keep improving the UK’s only 24/7, super-fast cash advance service and have helped thousands of happy customers during our first full year of operation.

Have a great night if you’re celebrating later and a happy new year to all our customers! We look forward to being of service in 2009.

Our founder and CEO was recently caught on camera at Le Web in Paris - a huge European technology and internet event. Check out the video, in which he talks about Wonga and also our partnership with Kiva. Not one to slump in front of the telly, he’s due to climb Mount Kilimanjaro next week. So good luck from everyone at Wonga and don’t look down!

Our CEO has received major recognition from the European Business Awards this week. He’s a recipient of a Ruban D’Honneaur (loosely translated as a ribbon of honour) and has been shortlisted for the RSM International Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

He’ll have to present to a multi-national panel of judges in January and will hear their decision at an impressive sounding ceremony in Rome next spring. As their site explains:

Entrepreneurship, particularly for the European economy, is a key source of jobs, business dynamism and innovation. The people in this category show incredible verve, flair, tenacity and aplomb in business. They come from a variety of industries, backgrounds and countries. Whether they are running a technology company, a recruitment firm or a marketing enterprise – one thing makes them stand out from the crowd – the will to succeed.

We’re chuffed to have made an appearance on The Sun’s extremely popular website today. They’ve written about Brits seeking short-term credit options during these uncertain times. You can read the article here.

The world is going Wonga crazy. Last month we told you about the good ship Wonga Wonga, a fine Australian steamer from the 1800s with which we’re proud to share our name. And continuing the Aussie theme, we’ve also learnt about the Wonga Wetlands project. The Wonga Wetlands provide fantastic habitat for wildfowl and other animals down under. The organisation also works to preserve vital wetlands around the globe. 

But the Wonga family doesn’t end there… We’ve also gone all Bill Oddie and discovered the Wonga Wonga pigeon! It inhabits, yep you’ve guessed it, Eastern Australia. We’re sure you’ll agree it’s a mighty fine bird! They are apparently quite rare, so once you’ve heard the shrill coo and finally added the Wonga Wonga pigeon to your twitcher’s book, you might want to celebrate with a trip to Wonga beach!

On a less sunny note, there’s also the infamous Wonga Coup - a group of mercenaries (including a hapless Mark Thatcher) accused of plotting to overthrow an African dictator in 2004.  

What’s next? Perhaps we’ll have a rash of babies named Wonga or discover more long lost relatives in Oz. Be sure to tell us if you know of another Wonga namesake we’re missing. And remember there’s only one Wonga.com! We’re here to help with short-term cash flow problems and can deposit up to £200 in your account within minutes. If you could do with a fast cash advance, click here to apply now.

Only a Wonga cash advance is a truly fast loan. ‘Well you would say that’ we hear you cry! But it pays to understand the difference between Wonga and other pretenders to the fast loan throne.

Wonga is not the only website claiming to offer people fast loans at the moment, but sometimes claims can be deceptive. We like to keep abreast of what’s going on outside of Wonga Towers and we like to know what kind of competition we’re up against. So we regularly try out some of the other websites for ourselves and it’s amazing how often boasts about ’same day loans’, ‘loans within an hour’ and ‘instant loans’ turn out to be pie in the sky!

Indeed, there have been occasions when our testers have been waiting for several days for a loan they applied for online - about as much use as a chocolate tea pot if they had genuinely been in need of emergency cash for an unforeseen expense.

So next time you want to tackle an urgent cash flow problem with a fast, short-term loan, trust Wonga to deliver. We’ve talked about some of the other reasons we’re different on this blog before, but speed is undoubtably our main strength if you need urgent funds. We’re the Usain Bolt of the consumer credit world and we’re here to help you in a flash for those ‘Wonga moments‘ when time is everything. If your application is approved we’ll deposit the cash within an hour (usually minutes), no matter who you bank with, what time it is, or what day it is. Now that’s a fast loan! As for the others, don’t always believe the hype!

Wonga is proving to be a great name. Not only is it a slang term for cash - which is what we provide - but people seem to like it and it’s easy to remember. Wonga is a word you just have to say out loud and it’s kind of satisfying the way it rolls round the mouth like vintage Bordeaux.  

And now we’ve got another reason to celebrate our name, after a Time Team style discovery relating to an Australian (British made) steam ship from the 1800s. We stumbled across this description of the mighty vessel, an extract of which is below…

The Wonga Wonga. This fine steam-ship, which started on her first colonial trip on the 3rd instant, is the sister ship of the City of Sydney. She was built is the Clyde under the supervision of the Secretary of the Company, Mr Patterson, and is in every respect equal, and in some respects superior, to the City of Sydney. The particulars of her build, tonnage and engines have on several occasions been mentioned in this journal, and we feel it necessary now only to repeat that her engines were built by Thompson and Co, of Glasgow. They are direct-acting and of 180-horse power, nominally, but will work up to 300-horse power.

She has great capacity for carrying purposes. Her chief cabin is substantially and beautifully fitted up, and the sleeping berths are commodious and well ventilated. The cabin for second-class passengers is superior, and is equal to the usual fittings of a first-class sailing ship. For third-class passengers the accommodation is clean and comfortable. The Wonga Wonga went down the harbour and about five mile outside the heads on Monday. Some of the directors and shareholders were present, and were highly delighted with her performances.

Sounds like the Wonga Wonga truly was a “first-class” ship, just like our super-fast cash advance service! Mind you, we’re thankfully not reliant on steam power.

We have a winner of our Wonga Moments competition! There were some great stories about why people had used the service and it was a tricky job to select the most unusual or heart warming one.

From stag weekends to last minute wedding emergencies and dream birthday presents to poems about unexpected bills, the judges were debating for hours. Well, at least an hour!

But Lucie in Hove is the winner of the Sony Video Walkman. Her emotional recounting of the birth of some kittens had us weeeping into our man-size tissues. All together now, aaaaaaarrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It seems a medical difficulty during the birth required emergency help from a vet. And that’s never cheap. Wonga saved the day by providing the short-term cash to cover the costs and it all ended happily with five healthy kittens.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter and better luck next time.

Don’t forget our ‘Wonga Moments’ competition is ending this week. This is your last chance to win a cool Sony Video Walkman, worth over £100, simply by telling us how Wonga has helped you in the past. We’ve already had some great stories, but you’ve got to be in it to win it!

It’s easy to enter - you can either leave a comment, or drop us a brief email to competitions@wonga.com. More details are available in the previous post below. We’ll decide which is the most unusual, warmest or amusing Wonga Moment very soon…

Fancy winning a cool Sony Video Walkman, featuring 4GB of memory, a 2.4″ LCD screen and built-in Bluetooth wireless headphones? Then tell us about your Wonga Moment…

All kinds of people use Wonga.com, for lots of different reasons. We’ve come to refer to those unforeseen situations where only a super-fast Wonga loan can save the day as ‘Wonga Moments’. We’d love to hear some of your more unusual, warm or inspiring stories about why you came to us and how the service helped you.

And the most interesting, unusual, amusing or heart warming Wonga Moment will win this lovely prize!

We’re only interested in genuine stories - perhaps you forgot an important birthday, the car broke down at a crucial time or you fixed a major DIY crisis for example? Tell us about your experience by sending an email to competitions@wonga.com. Include your name, phone number and a brief description of your Wonga Moment.

We’ll pick our favourite at the end of this month and notify the winner by email or phone. Your submission will remain confidential - unless it’s so good that we seek your approval to share it! Best of luck.