Wagestream closes $51M Series A to plug the payday gap without putting workers in debt

Wagestream -- which works with employers to let employees draw down a percentage of their income in the month for a small, flat fee -- today said that it has closed a Series A round of £40 million ($51 million). The funding is coming in the form of equity and debt, with Balderton and Northzone leading on the equity side, which makes up £15 million of the raise, and savings bank Shawbrook investing £25 million on the debt side to finance employee draw-downs. Other investors in the round include QED, the Rowntree Foundation, the London Co-investment Fund (LCIF) and Village Global, a social venture firm backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, among others.