5 ms·

Can someone explain how Wonga took the concept of pay day loans (which has a negative connotation in America) and spun so much posititivity out of their brand?

Can someone explain how Wonga took the concept of pay day loans (which has a negative connotation in America) and spun so much posititivity out of their brand? I like how they make it easy to pay bills directly but there is something i'm missing here.

jasonkester 15y ago
Is there any positivity in that brand? I see their scammy looking ads from time to time and mentally group them with those auction sites claiming you can win an iPad for $4.38. This is the first I've heard that they are an actual company.
- JacobAldridge 15y ago
  My beautiful wife and I were walking past Regents Park (in central London) just before Christmas last year, admiring the houses and wondering aloud what an obscene amount of money it would cost to live or base your office out of any of them. Wonga had two. It was the first we'd heard of them (having been in London only a month or so), but they got a lot of publicity on the Tube in the lead up to New Year's Eve (where they sponsored free public transport for the evening). But even discussions of that promotion were all tinged with 'how could Transport for London / the Mayor's office associate themselves with a company like this?'. "Is there any positivity in that brand?" None that I've seen. And when they're charging interest rates like they do to afford offices like they do, I doubt any will be forthcoming in the near future.
alanfalcon 15y ago
Pay day loans are a scam perpetrated on the poor and uneducated. Lots of money to be made, if you can live with yourself. You can spend a lot of that money to try to look good, but I'm not sure that educated folk would actually buy the message.
rm445 15y ago
From a business point of view they seized a market very well. They took notice of an advance in UK banking practice - bank transfers that complete immediately rather than in three days or even one - and built a business out of it. Getting a loan into your bank account without leaving your house is a step forward, especially in this day and age where money in your account may be more convenient than cash in hand. They also have tight control over their credit limits and grant expanding credit based on customers' past performance. I'm not sure to what extent bad customers get financially screwed, but in the end I guess it comes down to firing bad customers, which can be a big positive in some markets. Their advertising very big on the customer having choice and control over their loan. Fear of escalating charges probably features large in the mind of someone needing to take a payday loan, so it seems having a nice web interface and clear statements of what you have to pay are a plus (even though their actual credit terms are objectively terrible). So yeah, they're in a business that rightly has a shady reputation. But in terms of building a technology business they seem to be doing some interesting things.

jasonkester 15y ago

Is there any positivity in that brand? I see their scammy looking ads from time to time and mentally group them with those auction sites claiming you can win an iPad for $4.38. This is the first I've heard that they are an actual company.

JacobAldridge 15y ago
My beautiful wife and I were walking past Regents Park (in central London) just before Christmas last year, admiring the houses and wondering aloud what an obscene amount of money it would cost to live or base your office out of any of them. Wonga had two. It was the first we'd heard of them (having been in London only a month or so), but they got a lot of publicity on the Tube in the lead up to New Year's Eve (where they sponsored free public transport for the evening). But even discussions of that promotion were all tinged with 'how could Transport for London / the Mayor's office associate themselves with a company like this?'. "Is there any positivity in that brand?" None that I've seen. And when they're charging interest rates like they do to afford offices like they do, I doubt any will be forthcoming in the near future.

alanfalcon 15y ago

Pay day loans are a scam perpetrated on the poor and uneducated. Lots of money to be made, if you can live with yourself. You can spend a lot of that money to try to look good, but I'm not sure that educated folk would actually buy the message.

rm445 15y ago

From a business point of view they seized a market very well. They took notice of an advance in UK banking practice - bank transfers that complete immediately rather than in three days or even one - and built a business out of it. Getting a loan into your bank account without leaving your house is a step forward, especially in this day and age where money in your account may be more convenient than cash in hand. They also have tight control over their credit limits and grant expanding credit based on customers' past performance. I'm not sure to what extent bad customers get financially screwed, but in the end I guess it comes down to firing bad customers, which can be a big positive in some markets. Their advertising very big on the customer having choice and control over their loan. Fear of escalating charges probably features large in the mind of someone needing to take a payday loan, so it seems having a nice web interface and clear statements of what you have to pay are a plus (even though their actual credit terms are objectively terrible). So yeah, they're in a business that rightly has a shady reputation. But in terms of building a technology business they seem to be doing some interesting things.