First iPhone Loan Application

World’s first iPhone loan application provides instant ‘street credit’
Wonga.com, an online provider of short-term cash advances, has launched the first ever credit app for the iPhone, allowing both existing customers and first-time applicants to access small, short-term loans from anywhere. … Applicants receive an instant decision around the clock, with those who are approved guaranteed cash to their bank account within 15 minutes.

I’m sorry, but the first thing that springs to mind for me when I see that description of the new Wonga app is that it offers up a glorious new world of potential for drunk borrowing via our iPhones. I mean, if we have the technology, why settle for just sending lame drunk texts to ex-flames or current friends, if you can instead decide ‘Let’s go to Vegas’ at the tail-end of a night of over-indulgence and have funds for your trip just a few taps away.

I’m sure that’s not at all the intention of this new app though. Here’s more of its description, with far better intentions than my twisted first thoughts:

The London-based company, which provides ultra-flexible loans of between one and 31 days, says it will turn the touch-screen device into a virtual cash machine for urgent or unexpected expenses.
Errol Damelin, founder and CEO, said: “Our vision has always been to provide UK consumers with a fast, convenient and short-term way to solve immediate cash flow problems. While automating the lending process in a responsible way was a big challenge, our technology now enables us to develop a range of products which do just that.”
iPhone applicants can use their fingertip to move Wonga’s unique sliders, first choosing exactly how much cash they need (between £1 and £1,000), before determining the cost by deciding when to repay. The cost is always calculated up-front and they can then make a full application on the phone’s screen. Applicants receive an instant decision around the clock, with those who are approved guaranteed cash to their bank account within 15 minutes.
Wonga is the UK’s only lender to give applicant’s complete flexibility over the size and length of the loan required, with the cost determined by the number of days the money is taken for.
Even early repayment is fee-free. The company’s web service was given its full market launch in July 2008 and has already processed nearly three-quarters of a million applications using a real-time risk and decisioning platform.

The app is apparently available in the UK App Store now, and is a free app. You can also find more information about Wonga’s services at their web site:
https://www.wonga.com/HomePage.aspx
May I suggest using this one in tandem with one of the various iPhone breathalyzer apps, just to be sure you don’t find yourself borrowing for the spur of the moment ‘I’ve always wanted to go to Australia’ trip when you have work the next day. Or not, hey it’s your money