Questions
What exactly is a sòs?
A sòs (also called a sòl) is a rotating savings and credit circle with roots in Haiti, known elsewhere as susu, esusu, pardna, or tanda. A fixed group contributes the same amount on a schedule, and each period one member receives the whole pot. By the end of the cycle, everyone has received it once. There is no interest and no bank — just the group's word, kept.
What does TopSav charge?
2% of each pot, taken when the pot is paid out. On the standard circle — 20 members at $100 a round — the pot is $2,000, the fee is $40, and the recipient takes home $1,960 if the organizer takes no cut. Over a full 20-round cycle that is $800 per circle, on either schedule. There are no other TopSav charges. If the organizer chooses to earn a cut, that is separate — see the next question.
Can I make a profit by starting a circle?
Yes — that choice is yours when you start the circle. Pick “Earn a cut” in the setup and set your percentage of each pot, up to 10% in the app. It is taken from each pot on top of TopSav's 2%, before the recipient is paid, and it is shown to every member before the circle starts — no hidden deductions. For example, a 3% cut on the standard $2,000 pot pays you $60 a round, $1,200 over a 20-round cycle, and each recipient takes home $1,900. Leave it at “No profit” and you earn only your own turn at the pot, the traditional way. You can also be a member yourself and take both: your turn at the pot, plus your cut each round.
Who can start a circle?
Anyone. TopSav is an open platform: start a circle for your family, your friends, your congregation, your coworkers — set the size, the amount, the schedule — weekly or every two weeks — decide whether to earn an organizer cut, and invite your members.
Weekly or every two weeks — which should we pick?
It depends on how the group gets paid and how fast you want the rotation to finish. Weekly rounds move quickly: a 20-member circle completes in 20 weeks. Every-two-weeks rounds line up with biweekly paydays and give members more room between contributions, but the same circle takes 40 weeks to finish. The amount, the pot, and the 2% fee work the same on both schedules.
How do members pay?
However they like: cash, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, bank transfer, or another arrangement the circle agrees on. Each payment is recorded in TopSav with its method, so the whole group can see who has paid.
How do members talk to the organizer?
Right inside the circle. Every running circle has a message board shared by all its members and the organizer: post a question about your turn, confirm you've paid, or say you're running late, and the organizer answers on the same board — so the reply is on the record for the whole group, not buried in a private text thread. Try it in the app above: start a circle, then post as any member or as the organizer.
Does TopSav hold the money?
Not yet. TopSav is in prototype: the app above uses simulated money, and in a live test circle members pay each other directly. TopSav will hold and move funds itself only after its Connecticut money-transmitter licensing is in place.
What if a member can't pay one round?
That is the circle's call — circles have always handled it between members, by covering, swapping turns, or pausing. TopSav's job is to make the record clear so the group can decide fairly: who has paid, who hasn't, and whose turn is next.
