Mukando: your savings group, on the record

A mukando (a savings group) can now keep its book on Dura. Members pay in every month, one member takes the pot each month in turn, the savings can lend to members, and at the end of the cycle everyone gets her savings back with a share of the loan charges. The keeper records what happened, and every member confirms what involves her. Dura only keeps your group's records. Your money stays with your members: Dura never holds or moves it. The Privacy Notice is now version 1.2 and the Terms of Use version 1.1, because they describe savings groups. Nobody is asked to agree again.

What's new

Your groups, one tap away. Tap the Mukando button (three people) at the top of the table, or go to Settings and tap "Mukando (savings groups)". You don't need a household to be in a group.
Its own book. A group's book is kept apart from every household. Nothing in it touches your envelopes, your piggy or your private pocket, and the group never sees them.
Invite only. The keeper invites members by email, up to 30 in a group. Each person joins herself and ticks the group's agreement. Members see each other by first name, never by email address.
Simple rules for the whole cycle. One month per member. Each month everyone pays the same amount: "the round", which goes to that month's recipient, plus any savings. The rules can't change once the cycle starts. A missed month shows as owed, with no fines.
The keeper records, members confirm. Every entry waits until the members it involves say "Yes, that's right". Anyone can say "Something's wrong" with a note, and the keeper puts it right by undoing the entry and recording it again. Nothing is edited in place.
Where the money is. Every dollar sits in a named place: cash with a member, or a member's own account, like Rudo's EcoCash or Chipo's CBZ account, named by its last four digits at most. The places always add up to the pool.
Loans from the pool. If the group saves, members can borrow from the savings. The group sets one flat charge at the start of the cycle; Dura never suggests one. Every loan shows the money lent, the amount paid to the borrower, the flat rate and what that is as a yearly rate. Above 5% a year Dura warns you, because that is the limit Zimbabwe's law sets at present for interest on any loan, including in a savings group.
The share-out. At the end of the cycle Dura works out each member's share: her savings, plus a share of the loan charges in proportion to what she saved, less anything she still owes. The keeper finalises it, and each member confirms what she received.

How to use it

Tap the Mukando button on the table, then "Start a group". Give it a name, a currency and a payment day (1 to 28), and tick the box that says the group is only for people you invite. Read the group agreement and tap "Agree and start the group". You are its keeper.
Open "Members & invites" and send an invite for each member. She gets an email with a link that works for 30 days. New to Dura? The link makes her account.
When everyone has joined, tap "Set the rules": the round, the savings, the charge for loans (or none) and who gets which month. Check the rules and tap "Start the cycle".
Each month, tap "Record" and pick what happened: "Someone paid in", "The pot was paid out", "A loan from the pool", "A loan repayment" or "Money changed hands". The members involved see it under "Waiting for you".
On the last month, open "Share-out". Check each member's line and tap "Finalise the share-out". The plan shows which place pays whom before anything is recorded.

Good to know

Group home shows this month's recipient and who has paid, where the money is, your own position and the whole book. Confirmed and waiting amounts are shown apart.
Two members can swap their months under "Payout order & swaps". Both have to say yes.
If a member can't cover what she owes at the share-out, the keeper can record a write-off. Round money she owes a member comes off that member's share only. A loan the pool can't get back comes off everyone else's share in proportion. The members it comes off agree first, and each sees every share before and after.
You can download your own group records as a CSV any time from "My records & leaving". You can leave before the first cycle starts or once a cycle has closed. A keeper hands the book to another member first ("Hand over the book").
Dura never sends group records to AI. You can read your group's book with your own Dura access, for example with dura mukando or a tool you choose. It shows no more than you see in the app and never anyone's email address. Use what you see about other members only for the group's affairs.
You can withdraw your group agreement at any time by writing to privacy@muchiround.com, or by closing your Dura account. After that, nothing new is recorded about you except what settles the cycle you're in. Once your cycle has closed, your name in the group's book becomes "Former member" and a number.
The Privacy Notice is now version 1.2. It adds savings groups to sections 1 to 8 and a new section 6A. The Terms of Use are now version 1.1: section 1 mentions savings groups, section 4.4 explains Zimbabwe's limit on interest, and the new section 4.8 covers keepers and members. Nothing else changed, and nobody is asked to agree again.
Apps and agents can read a group and, for the keeper, record entries with dura mukando and the API. Confirming, disputing, agreeing a swap or a write-off and finalising a share-out are for people to decide, so an agent should leave them to you.

Go deeper

Privacy Notice, section 6A: what a group sees, what stays when you leave, and your own tools.
Terms of Use, section 4: money records only, interest and the law, keepers and members.
The dura command line: the dura mukando commands.
API reference: the mukando endpoints.
Household loans from the piggy: lending inside one household.

Frequently asked questions

Does Dura hold or move the group's money?

No. Dura only keeps your group's records. The money stays with your members, in the places the book names.

Can the other members see my email address or my household?

No. They see you by first name and see your group records only: what you paid in, received, borrowed and repaid, your month, and any of the group's money you hold. Never your email address, your households or your private pocket.

Do I have to agree to anything again?

No. The Privacy Notice is now version 1.2 and the Terms of Use version 1.1, but nobody is asked to agree again. You agree to a group's own agreement only when you start or join one.