Group Pools

A birthday gift, a group target, splitting rent — money between people is usually the messy part. A Group Pool puts everyone's money in one place and pays it out by a rule agreed up front. Start one in the app or on WhatsApp, share the link, and everyone joins from their own chat.

Taking turns? That's rotating ajo

If your group wants each member to collect the pot in turn, use a rotating ajo — it has its own rules for missed payments. The pools on this page pay out once, by a fixed rule.

How it works

  1. 1
    Create the pool

    “Start a pool for rent, ₦10,000 each”. Say who it's for (“for @ada”) to make it a gift pool.

  2. 2
    Share the link

    You get a pool code and a link. Drop it in any WhatsApp group, DM it, post it anywhere.

  3. 3
    Everyone joins

    Members see the exact terms and who's in, and agree before paying anything.

  4. 4
    Contribute

    Paid from your Arcle balance with a “yes”.

  5. 5
    Release

    When the moment comes, the pot pays out by the rule set at the start.

Kinds of pool

Gift pool

Everyone chips in and the whole pot goes to one person. Who receives it is fixed at creation and can't be changed.

Target pool

A group saves toward something together. When released, each member gets back exactly what they put in.

Split pool

One person covered the bill; everyone pays their share back. It releases once everyone has paid.

What keeps it honest

  • Arcle holds the money — never a member's wallet, so there's no collector to disappear.
  • Terms are fixed at creation — amount, type, who receives it. Nobody can change them after people join.
  • Everyone agrees first — the full terms are on the join screen.
  • Payout follows the rule, not somebody's decision.

Fees and limits

0.2% per contribution — about ₦20 on ₦10,000 — added on top, so the pot gets your full amount. The creator takes no cut. While we're in pilot, pools are capped at 30 members and ₦500,000 / $500 per contribution.

Import pools — group buying from a supplier

Traders pooling money for a bulk order (a China import, a minimum order quantity) can start an import pool with a supplier Arcle has verified. Everyone contributes digital dollars toward a target by a deadline.

  • If the target isn't reached by the deadline, everyone is refunded in full.
  • If it is, the supplier is paid into a held balance they can see but can't spend. It's released only once delivery is confirmed — and reversed, with everyone refunded, if it isn't.
  • Any contributor can raise a dispute, which freezes the money until a person at Arcle reviews it.
  • A 1.5% fee applies only when an order is delivered — and is returned if it isn't.
  • Ask “how's my import pool?” any time for its progress.

Pools work the same in the app and on WhatsApp — same pool, same money.