FINANCIAL SERVICES
Wonga aims to transform loan shark reputation
Embattled payday lender Wonga appears to have cleaned up its act, saying it has undergone a massive transformation with plans to diversify into other financial products. Wonga, which offered short-term loans that had to be paid back in a single instalment, would soon enable customers to repay their loans in multiple, smaller instalments, CEO Brett van Aswegen said on Tuesday. The lender would introduce, via a partnership model, other financial services offerings, such as saving and insurance products, he said. Following run-ins with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and a compliance notice from the National Credit Regulator, London-headquartered Wonga has struggled to shake its loan shark image. Its South African founder, Errol Damelin, quit its board in 2014, amid intense scrutiny of the UK’s payday lending industry. At the time, the Financial Conduct Authority ordered Wonga to pay more than £2.6m in compensation for bullying defaulting customers with letters from nonexistent la...
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