Terms of Service

Vouchcircle is a software platform that helps groups of people organize and track rotating savings arrangements (“circles”), commonly known as ajo, esusu, susu, or tontines.

Vouchcircle does not hold, custody, transmit, or guarantee any member’s money. All contributions are made directly between members via their own bank transfers, outside of Vouchcircle’s systems. Vouchcircle’s role is limited to: helping users form circles, tracking who owes what to whom, displaying payment status, and providing reminders and dispute-visibility tools.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into financial arrangements in your jurisdiction to use Vouchcircle. By creating an account, you confirm you meet this requirement.

Vouchcircle does not verify, guarantee, insure, or reverse any payment made between members. When you join a circle, you are entering into a direct financial arrangement with the other members of that circle, not with Vouchcircle. It is your responsibility to:

• Send payments to the correct recipient using the bank details shown in the app
• Confirm receipt of payments accurately
• Understand that Vouchcircle’s “reliability score” and payment records reflect what members report and confirm, and are not independently verified by any bank or financial institution

Once a circle’s rotation order is locked, contribution amounts and the payout schedule cannot be changed.

Leaving before receiving a payout: a member who has not yet received their payout may request to leave a circle. If approved, either the circle continues with one fewer member (remaining cycles adjusted accordingly) or the organiser fills the vacated position with a replacement member. No reliability score penalty applies to a member who exits cleanly before receiving a payout.

Leaving after receiving a payout: a member who has already received their payout must either (a) complete their remaining scheduled contributions on the normal schedule, or (b) request an early exit, in which case they must immediately repay their entire remaining balance as a single lump sum before being removed from the circle. A member who neither completes their contributions nor repays the outstanding balance is treated as in default, which affects their reliability score and is visible to other circle members.

Missed or disputed payments affect a member’s reliability score, which is visible to other members and used to determine eligibility for future circles, including auto-matched pools.

If a payment is marked “sent” by a payer but the recipient reports it as not received, this is recorded as a dispute, visible to all members of that circle, with timestamps of each action. Disputed payments do not count as missed until resolved.

In circles you create or join by invitation (“manual circles”): disputes are reviewed and resolved by the circle’s organiser (the member who created the circle), who determines whether the payment is treated as paid or unpaid.

In auto-matched pools: since these circles have no individual human organiser, disputes are reviewed and resolved by Vouchcircle platform administrators.

In all cases, Vouchcircle does not independently verify bank transfers and cannot guarantee the accuracy of any dispute outcome; resolution is based on the information and confirmations provided by members. Vouchcircle’s role is limited to providing visibility, record-keeping, and a resolution mechanism — not to guaranteeing, insuring, or reversing any payment.

Vouchcircle cannot guarantee that any member will pay as agreed. You acknowledge that participating in a rotating savings circle carries inherent financial risk, particularly the risk that a member who has already received their payout may fail to complete their remaining contributions. Vouchcircle is not liable for losses arising from another member’s non-payment, default, or fraud.

If you fail to complete your contributions after receiving your payout, or otherwise breach these terms:

• Your reliability score will reflect this permanently, visible to other members and used to determine your eligibility for future circles and pools on Vouchcircle.
• Vouchcircle may suspend or permanently ban your account.
• Vouchcircle may share your default record with other Vouchcircle users considering circles with you, and, where we begin offering credit-history reporting in the future, may report verified payment history (positive and negative) to UK credit reference agencies — we will notify users clearly before this begins.
• Where there is reasonable evidence of fraud (for example, joining a circle with no intention of paying), Vouchcircle may report the matter to Action Fraud or the police, who may independently choose to investigate.
• The other members you owe money to retain their own right to pursue you for the debt directly, including through the small claims court, as this is a debt between members, not one owed to Vouchcircle.

Vouchcircle does not guarantee that any of the above will result in recovery of your money, and does not itself pursue criminal prosecution, which is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, not Vouchcircle.

Manual circles are currently free to use. Some features — including auto-matched pools — may carry a fee to cover the cost of identity verification and platform operation. Any fees will be clearly disclosed before they apply to you, and you will never be charged a percentage of your circle contributions; fees are only ever charged separately, via card payment, for use of the platform itself.

You may delete your account at any time via Account settings, subject to the restriction that you cannot delete your account while you have an active, unresolved payment obligation in an ongoing circle. See our Privacy Policy for what happens to your data on deletion.

We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of Vouchcircle after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.