Esusu, the way it has always worked. Now with a shared record.
Throw keeps the order, the reminders and a record every member can see. Each contribution goes bank to bank to whoever is receiving. Throw never holds the money.
In testing on iPhone now. Join the early access list for your Esusu.
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What is esusu?
Esusu is the Yoruba name for a rotating savings and credit group, one of the best known in West Africa. Members pay a fixed amount each round, and the whole sum goes to one member in turn until everyone has received it once. Igbo communities know the same idea as isusu, and Hausa communities as adashe.
Many historians trace the Caribbean susu back to the Yoruba esusu. Today it’s run by family members, friends, church groups and colleagues, in Nigeria and across the diaspora.
Why the order matters
In an esusu, the order of turns is a real decision, not a formality.
- Early turns
- The first people to receive get a lump sum before they’ve paid most of it in. In effect, the group gives them an interest-free advance.
- Late turns
- The last people to receive have paid in almost everything first. For them, the esusu works as disciplined saving.
- Agreeing it
- Groups decide by need, by agreement, by seniority or by drawing lots. What matters is that everyone accepts it before the first payment.
Keeping the order fair in Throw
Throw makes the order visible and hard to dispute.
- Fix the order or draw it. The organiser can set the order or let Throw draw it at random.
- Everyone sees it before paying. Each member sees the full order and dates when they join.
- Changes need agreement. Two members can swap turns only if both agree. On Throw Plus, groups can set their own swap rules, and a member can ask to move to another position.
- The record keeps itself. Every change of order is logged for the whole group.
How Throw helps your Esusu
- One record for the whole groupEvery contribution, who paid and when, in a ledger everyone sees.
- Money goes straight to the person receivingApproved in each member’s own banking app. Throw never holds it.
- Reminders before each due dateMembers are reminded; the organiser is told when a payment is late.
- Group decisions on PlusOn Throw Plus, binding group votes can pause a cycle or change a rule, and the change applies when the vote passes.
Throw never holds the money and doesn’t guarantee or cover missed payments. Payments are started by Yapily Connect Ltd, authorised by the FCA (FRN 827001). Read how Throw works, step by step, or see plans and pricing.
Esusu questions
What is the difference between esusu and ajo?
Usage varies by family and region. Often esusu means the rotating group and ajo the daily savings kept by a collector, but many people use the words the other way round, or for the same thing. In Throw you can call your group whichever word you use.
Does anyone pay or earn interest?
No. Throw doesn’t lend money and nobody earns interest on the pot. Each member gets back exactly what the group puts in for their turn. The only cost is Throw’s flat fee, which is shown before anyone joins.
Does Throw hold our money?
No. Every contribution goes from the payer’s bank account straight to the member receiving the pot that cycle. Throw records the payment and shows its status. The only money paid to Throw is its own fee.
What if someone doesn’t pay?
Throw reminds them before the due date and tells the organiser when a payment is late. The rules your group agrees at the start decide the grace period and what happens next, and everything is recorded where the whole group can see it.
Members can ask for more time, swap turns or hand their place to someone else. Throw doesn’t cover missed payments.
What does it cost?
£1.49 per member per month on Standard, or £2.49 on Plus, for the length of the circle. It’s charged once at the start with one bank approval, so there are no monthly charges. The organiser can run the group for free.
Get early access
Throw is in testing on iPhone. Tell us about your group and we’ll be in touch as places open, and when Throw is on the App Store.
You’re on the list
We’ll email you as soon as there’s a place for your group.