Question 1

What is a rotating savings circle?

Accepted Answer

A small circle of trusted people who each contribute a fixed amount on a schedule. Each round, one member receives the pooled payout — through random draw, rotation, or bidding. Depending on where you’re from, you may know the same idea as kameti, tanda, susu, ajo, chama, stokvel, hui, chit fund, ROSCA, or another local name.

Question 2

Do I need to know everyone in the circle?

Accepted Answer

We strongly recommend it. Jamiya is built for trusted circles — extended family, coworkers, a neighborhood. Public and request-to-join savings circles exist, but high-trust circles work best with people you already know.

Question 3

Is there a minimum or maximum circle size?

Accepted Answer

No hard minimum; practical minimum is about three. The maximum is whatever you set when you create the savings circle — Jamiya will scale to dozens of members and multiple units per member.

Question 4

How much does Jamiya cost?

Accepted Answer

Members are always free. Admins start their first **five** savings circles free — no card required. From your sixth circle onward, activating a savings circle carries a **per-circle platform fee of 0.5% of one round’s pot**, charged once per savings circle at activation (not per round, not per month). Every new circle you start after the first five pays its own 0.5%. Floor around $5 USD and a cap around $500 USD, with per-currency equivalents so a PKR or JPY circle sees sensible round numbers in its own currency. No subscription, no per-round charges, no member billing. Refund available if the circle doesn’t complete round three.

Question 5

Who pays the platform fee — the admin or every member?

Accepted Answer

Jamiya only ever charges the admin’s card. When you start a circle, you pick how to handle it: **"I’ll cover it"** (you pay, members never see a fee) or **"Split with my group"** (Jamiya shows every member what their share works out to, and you informally collect it off-app however your group already handles money). You can switch modes any time after the circle starts.

Question 6

Does Jamiya hold my money?

Accepted Answer

No. Jamiya never custodies funds. The default mode is tracking-only: members pay each other through whatever rails they already use, and Jamiya records the ledger. If your treasurer opts in, winner payouts can settle through your own Stripe Connect account.

Question 7

How do payouts work?

Accepted Answer

The winner of each round receives the pool either manually (your treasurer sends the funds through bank transfer, mobile money, or cash) or through Stripe Connect (when the savings circle has orchestrated payments enabled). Every payout is logged with a reference, notes, and proof.

Question 8

What if someone misses a contribution?

Accepted Answer

Admins can extend a grace period, mark a contribution overdue, or escalate to a dispute. Savings circles that enable the insurance fund can cover short payments from the pool. Members who repeatedly miss contributions affect their reputation score.

Question 9

Who can see my circle?

Accepted Answer

Private savings circles are readable only by members. Public and request-to-join savings circles show a limited preview (name, amount, frequency) to signed-in users. Sensitive details like payment routing always live on member-only subdocs.

Question 10

Are draws actually fair?

Accepted Answer

Random draws run server-side with a committed seed and ship a fairness record every member can verify. Sequential draws follow the order you committed at creation. Bidding draws capture every bid, and the discount flows back to the circle. You cannot re-roll a draw.

Question 11

Can I export my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any member can request a machine-readable export of their savings circles, contributions, draws, and messages.

Question 12

Which platforms are supported?

Accepted Answer

Jamiya is available on Google Play and the App Store. Open the Download page on this site for direct store buttons.

Question 13

What languages does the app support?

Accepted Answer

English at launch, with structure in place for Urdu and Arabic. Members can suggest translations from within the app; accepted contributions ship in future updates.

Question 14

How do I contact support?

Accepted Answer

Use the contact form on jamiya.io, or email support@jamiya.io directly. We reply to every message.

Common questions

Getting started

Money and payouts

Privacy and trust

The app