What is a jameya (savings circle)?
A jameya (جمعية) is a savings circle: a group of people who each contribute a fixed amount on a fixed schedule, and each turn one member receives the whole pot. Economists call it a ROSCA, a rotating savings and credit association.
Many names, one idea
The same practice exists across the Arab world and beyond. In the Gulf, the Levant and Egypt it is usually called a جمعية (jameya, jamiya or gameya); in Morocco it is دارت (daret); in French it is often a tontine; and in South Asia it is known as a committee. In English it is a savings circle or ROSCA.
The basic rules
- A fixed group of members and a fixed contribution, for example 1,000 AED a month.
- A turn order: each cycle one member receives the total collected.
- The circle lasts as many cycles as there are members, so everyone receives once.
- Traditionally there is no interest: everyone pays in and takes out the same total.
Members early in the order effectively get an interest-free advance; members late in the order use the circle as a commitment to save.
What can go wrong
A jameya runs on trust. The usual problems are a member who pays late, confusion about who has paid, disagreements about the order, and a lost paper list or chat thread. CIRCUL does not remove the need for trust, and it does not guarantee payments. It gives the group one clear, shared record so that problems are visible early.
How CIRCUL helps
In CIRCUL the organiser creates the circle and invites members. Members transfer their contribution to the organiser by bank transfer and report it; the organiser confirms it; the organiser pays the recipient, who confirms it. Every step has a status everyone can see. CIRCUL never holds the money. See the full walkthrough.