The website says each person wins X amount of rounds. How do you guarantee that the winner of the first round with contribute again to the second round and won't just take their gain?
@animalroam: First and foremost, Trusted Lending Circles are between CLOSE friends and family that know each other well. However, to thwart bad actors, WeTrust will have four deterrents:
1. Reputation risk/ Reviews: ROSCA groups will be limited to "trusted associates" - family, friends, co-workers, fraternal groups, and professional/ religious organizations. Defaulting on payments could mean social shame and loss of reputation amongst an individual's closest associates. The idea is that for ROSCAs with small enough dollar amount commitments, reputation risk will be sufficient enough to keep participants honest. Reviews may also be left by other members to show how they felt about any participant.
2. Legal risk: ROSCA formation will allow trusted associates to e-sign and bind each other to a legal contract which requires faithful adherence and payment to the ROSCA. Defaulting on payments and stealing could mean legal repercussions. Legal recourse will only be used if individuals are participating in a "high-stakes" ROSCA and legal action would be worthwhile. I've spoken to our legal advisor and she believes it will be possible to create auto-populating templates that will be tailored to each person's ROSCA terms.
3. Collateral risk: Collateral commitments may be required prior to joining a ROSCA. The collateral will be entered into a smart contract which will surrender the property to the ROSCA group if the ROSCA agreement is breached. Collateral can be liquid-cash like assets like Bitcoin or even less liquid assets such as auto/ home titles. Our system will benefit significantly from the ability to accept less liquid assets, since the majority of middle classes’ net worth is locked in real estate. Collateral would allow capital to be used more efficiently.
4. Smart contract bounty (self-enforcement): If a ROSCA participant violates the terms of the ROSCA, the ROSCA group may start a “Bounty” on the retrieval of funds. If the funds are retrieved, the “Bounty” is paid out to the person who enforces the terms of the ROSCA.
These deterrent options will be on an "opt-in" basis and participants will be able to choose the level of security they want.