Wonga, the UK-based small lending site, has announced its first round of investment for $6 million, led by Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe). Also participating in this round is Betfair and Setanta, and the Accelerator Group, which specializes in early stage technology funding. The site is currently in closed beta.
The investment funding will be used to speed up Wonga's platform development in hopes of becoming a leader as a small loan provider. The loans are doled out on a short term basis for up to £1,000 at any one time, depending on your trust score. You'll get the cash loan same-day, and is set up to provided loans to help out with unexpected expenses and emergencies. Wonga doesn't require you to indicate what the money will be used for, but has installed a new way of building a trust rating system for users.