Rotating savings, kept honestly
A cash box that no one has to hold.
A fixed group of 2–20 people chip in the same amount on the same schedule, and each round the whole pool goes to one member — in turn, until everyone has received it exactly once. Whoever goes first borrowed at no interest. Whoever goes last lent at no interest. Nobody ends up ahead and nobody ends up behind.
People have run this for centuries — tanda in Mexico, susu in West Africa, hui in China, chit funds in India, pardna in Jamaica. Cherga is the same arrangement written as a smart contract, so the bookkeeping can’t be faked and no one has to be the treasurer.
Read this first
This isn’t insured and it isn’t reversible. Nothing here protects you if a friend stops paying — there is no collateral and no one to appeal to. Only share a circle with people you’d trust with cash in person.
How it works
Five steps, then it’s over. Nothing renews and nothing runs in the background.
01
One person sets the terms.
Which stablecoin, how much each person pays per round, how many people are in the circle (2–20), how long a round lasts, and the date by which the circle has to be full. After the circle exists, none of it can be changed — not by the person who made it, not by anyone.
02
Everyone joins through one link.
The order people join in is the queue, and the queue is the payout order — first to join is paid first, last to join is paid last. If the circle isn't full by the deadline it is cancelled and nobody has paid anything.
03
Each round, everyone pays once except the person being paid.
Eight friends at $100 a month: seven people pay, and the eighth — whoever's turn it is — receives the $700. Everyone can see who has paid this round and who hasn't.
04
The recipient claims the pool.
If someone didn't pay, the round still closes: the recipient takes whatever was collected, and the missing amount becomes that one person's debt to that one recipient. It stays on the chain, with no deadline and no penalty, until they pay it back.
05
The next round opens, and so on until the queue runs out.
Eight people means eight rounds. At the end everyone has paid in the same amount and taken out the same amount, the circle closes for good, and the only thing that can still be outstanding is a debt between two specific people.
What it’s for
Nobody makes money here. That is the point.
A circle moves money around in time instead of growing it. You give up access to small amounts for a while and get one large amount when your turn comes — and someone else in the group gets the same deal, in a different month.
A lump sum, no lender
Going early is a loan from your friends at zero interest — no credit check, no bank, no collateral. You pay it back in the following rounds, in instalments you already agreed to.
Saving you actually keep up
Going late is saving with a deadline and an audience. Most people skip a solo savings plan; far fewer skip a payment their friends are waiting on.
No treasurer, no arguments
Nobody holds the box and nobody keeps the notebook. Who paid, who was short, who owes whom — all of it is on the chain, identical for everyone, and impossible to misremember.
Distance and weak currency
A group split across countries can't pass cash around, and a group whose currency loses value can't wait months holding it. Stablecoins fix both without anyone travelling or exchanging money.
This might not be for you
If your group is in one place and one currency, a shared spreadsheet and a jar will do the job better. If you’re looking for a return on money, this pays none — by design. If you don’t already know every person in the circle personally, close this page.
It might be for you
Friends spread across countries who can’t pass a box around. Groups who already hold stablecoins. People whose local currency loses value while they wait their turn.