How a hand works
The sou-sou is one of the oldest savings agreements there is. Here is exactly how Sanzra runs one, and what stands behind your money.
The whole idea, in four steps
1. A circle forms
People who choose each other agree on one amount and one schedule. You can see who else is in the circle before you commit.
2. Everyone pays in each round
On the same day each round, every member puts in the same agreed amount. Nobody pays more and nobody pays less.
3. One member takes the hand
Each round the pooled money goes to one member. The order is set when the circle forms, so you know your turn from the start.
4. The circle completes
When everyone has had a turn the circle is finished. You put in exactly what you took out, and you had the use of a lump sum months before you could have saved it alone.
A worked example
Six friends form a circle and agree on one amount each month. In the first month everyone pays in and the first member takes the whole pot. The next month the same thing happens and the second member takes it. By the sixth month every one of them has received a lump sum six times the size of a single payment, and every one of them has made exactly six payments. No interest. No lender. That is the entire mechanism.
What stands behind your money
This is the part a neighbourhood sou-sou cannot offer. A circle only works if the person who takes the hand early keeps paying, so Sanzra gives that promise something to rest on.
Contributions are held, not passed around
Money sits in the group account until the round settles. It does not move person to person, so there is no moment where one member is holding everyone elses money.
Early hands are backed
A member taking the hand before they have paid the full amount in can be asked for a security deposit first. The earlier the turn, the more the circle is allowed to require.
A circle can insure itself
Groups can add a small insurance rate to each contribution. If someone misses, the pool covers the gap so the round still settles for everyone else.
Your record follows you
Every contribution on time builds a reliability record other groups can see. A strong record lowers what you must put up as collateral, and defaulting costs you across the whole platform, not just one circle.
What Sanzra is not
Sanzra is not a bank and does not lend. A hand is not a loan and not an investment, and no return is promised on it. Payout timing depends on the other members and on the settlement method your group uses, so a hand is never guaranteed. Identity checks and payment features vary by country.
Sanzra is not a bank. Funds are not insured by any government deposit guarantee scheme.
Ready to begin?
Account setup and identity-verification times vary by provider, jurisdiction, and document review. A Hand is never guaranteed.
Restricted to users 21 years of age or older. Subject to legal acceptance.