What Does Wonga.com Do?

Total employees500
HeadquartersLondon
Founded2006

Wonga.com (Wonga Group Limited) was a British-founded financial technology company that offered short-term, high-cost 'payday' loans online and via mobile applications. Launched in 2007, it grew rapidly, expanding its services to several countries including South Africa, Spain, Poland, and Canada. Wonga was known for its quick loan approval process facilitated by automated risk and decision-making technology. However, it faced severe criticism and regulatory action over its extremely high interest rates (often exceeding 5,000% APR), aggressive debt collection practices, and for lending to individuals who could not afford repayments. After regulatory caps on payday loan costs were introduced in the UK and a surge in compensation claims from past customers, Wonga.com entered administration in August 2018, ceasing its operations.

Where Is Wonga.com's Headquarters?

Wonga.com officeWonga.com officeWonga.com officeWonga.com office
*Images sourced via web search. Rights belong to original owners

HQ Function

Served as the registered head office, likely housing key administrative, financial, and legal functions, particularly during the company's final operational phase and its entry into administration.

Notable Features:

A modern office building in a central London location, offering contemporary business facilities. Specific Wonga-utilized features within the building are not widely publicized.

Work Culture:

In its final years and leading up to administration, the work culture at Wonga was reportedly under immense pressure due to mounting financial losses, intense regulatory scrutiny, and significant public criticism, creating a challenging environment for employees.

HQ Significance:

As the registered head office during its collapse, this location is historically significant as the final administrative center of Wonga.com before its operations ceased and administrators took over.

Values Reflected in HQ: The choice of a formal, central London registered office likely aimed to project an image of a structured corporate entity. Earlier headquarters during its growth phase, such as those in more tech-focused areas, might have reflected values of innovation and disruption, which were later overshadowed by controversy.

Location:

Prior to its 2018 administration, Wonga.com extended its operations internationally beyond the UK. Its global functions included deploying its core lending technology platform in various countries, implementing localized marketing and customer acquisition strategies, providing customer support in regional languages, adapting credit risk assessment models to local data and regulations, and managing country-specific financial operations and collections. Each international subsidiary often operated with a degree of autonomy to cater to local market conditions while being part of the Wonga Group. These international ventures, however, also encountered regulatory scrutiny and operational challenges.

Street Address:

The Peak, 5 Wilton Road

City:

London

State/Province:

Greater London

Country:

United Kingdom

Where Else Does Wonga.com Operate Around the World?

Cape Town, South Africa

Address: Specific street address not readily available; operated a significant office.

To expand Wonga's payday loan services into the South African market, leveraging digital channels to reach consumers.

Warsaw, Poland

Address: Specific street address not readily available; operated as Wonga.pl.

To establish a presence in the growing Eastern European consumer credit market.

Madrid, Spain

Address: Specific street address not readily available; operated as Wonga.es.

Expansion into the Spanish-speaking European market for short-term, online loans.

Toronto, Canada

Address: Specific street address not readily available.

To penetrate the North American short-term loan market, adapting its model to Canadian consumer needs and laws.

Buying Intent Signals for Wonga.com

Highperformr Signals uncover buying intent and give you clear insights to target the right accounts at the right time — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams close more deals, faster.

Notable news
Hiring actively
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
*Example signal, not calculated in real time

Who's Leading Wonga.com? Meet the Executive Team

As of April 2025, Wonga.com' leadership includes:

Errol Damelin - Founder and former CEO
Jonty Hurwitz - Co-founder
Niall Wass - Former CEO (succeeded Errol Damelin)
Andy Haste - Former Group Chairman (appointed in 2014 to lead turnaround)
Tara Kneafsey - Former CEO of Wonga UK Consumer Loans (until May 2018)

Who's Investing in Wonga.com?

Wonga.com has been backed by several prominent investors over the years, including:

Accel Partners
Balderton Capital
Dawn Capital
Greylock Partners
Meritech Capital Partners
Oak Investment Partners
Wellcome Trust (via fund investments)

What Leadership Changes Has Wonga.com Seen Recently?

Hire0
Exits1

In the 12-18 months leading up to its administration in August 2018, Wonga.com experienced significant instability. While comprehensive details of all executive movements are not centrally publicized for this period, key leadership changes occurred as the company grappled with mounting losses and regulatory pressures. The focus was largely on crisis management rather than new strategic hires.

Departures

Tara Kneafsey, Tara Kneafsey resigned as the chief executive of Wonga's UK operations.

What Technology (Tech Stack) Is Used byWonga.com?

Discover the tools Wonga.com uses. Highperformr reveals the technologies powering your target accounts — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams prioritize smarter and close faster.

Wonga.com Email Formats and Examples

As Wonga.com is no longer operational, its email system is defunct. Historically, like many corporations, its email format likely combined employee names with the company domain. Common formats include first initial and last name, or first name separated by a dot from the last name.

[first_initial][last]@wonga.com or [first].[last]@wonga.com

Format

jdoe@wonga.com or jane.doe@wonga.com

Example

0%

Success rate

What's the Latest News About Wonga.com?

The Guardian • August 30, 2018

Wonga collapses into administration

Wonga, Britain’s best-known payday lender, collapsed into administration after being inundated with compensation claims related to its past irresponsible lending practices. The company appointed Grant Thornton as administrators....more

BBC News • October 2, 2014

Wonga to write off £220m of customer debt

Following an agreement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Wonga was forced to write off £220m of debt for around 330,000 customers deemed to have been granted loans they couldn't afford. An additional 45,000 customers in arrears had interest and charges cancelled....more

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) • June 25, 2014

Wonga to pay redress for sending letters to customers from non-existent law firms

The FCA found Wonga guilty of unfair debt collection practices, including sending letters to struggling customers from fake law firms. Wonga was ordered to pay £2.6 million in compensation to affected customers....more

Reuters • July 25, 2013

Church of England embarrassed by Wonga investment

The Church of England faced embarrassment after it was revealed that its pension fund had indirectly invested in Wonga, despite the Archbishop of Canterbury's strong public criticism of payday lenders....more

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