The round was led by new investors Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, while Balderton Capital, which first backed the company three years ago, also contributed.

Wonga, which makes loans of up to £750 for up to 30 days, will use the financing to fine-tune its automated service and expand its business. Chief executive Errol Damelin says the company is profitable and is ‘built to scale’, giving it ‘huge scope for expansion’.

Accel partner Sonali de Rycker comments, ‘Wonga’s ability to offer credit in real-time while keeping a tight control on customer experience and defaults is truly disruptive.’

A loan of £150 for 15 days from Wonga would incur £29.51 in interest and charges, equivalent to an APR of 2,689 per cent.