Member Pool Contributor Agreement (template)

Status: v0.2 template. Not in force in any jurisdiction. Contributing capital into a co-operative lending pool carries statutory exposure distinct from borrowing — including P2P / loan-based crowdfunding regimes, co-operative-society law, and (depending on structure) deposit-taking questions. The version of this template that goes binding in your jurisdiction will reflect those rules.

Where this sits in the Custody Framework

This document operates under Category B of the Custody Framework Charter — the escrow-only category that governs lending pool capital, loan accounts, collateral escrow, and the Circle Protection Reserve. Member vote does not apply to Category B custody; the rule is constitutional. Accounts are opened in the name of the Members' own co-operative legal form, with a multi-signature mandate held by the Lending Committee.

Category A — regular cycle contributions in single-jurisdiction Circles, which may be Member-to-member or escrow-held by Member vote — is outside this surface. Category C — Circles that cross a jurisdictional boundary — adds the escrow-only rule to all funds in those Circles; this surface inherits Category C when the Circle is cross-border.

Parties to this agreement

This agreement is between:

• You, the Pool Contributor — the Member identified in the pool stake confirmation, contributing capital to the circle's / federation's own lending pool.
• The Pool — your circle's (at L0/L1) or federation's (at L2) lending pool, acting through its own member-constituted co-operative legal form registered in your jurisdiction — the Members' collective vehicle, not a separate or third-party entity — identified by registered name and registration number. A bank or credit union may custody the dedicated multi-signature lending account but acts as account provider / custodian only and is never the lender.

Circlworld is not a party. Circlworld provides the platform, the formulas, the governance plumbing, and the audit trail. Circlworld does not hold your stake, does not lend it, and is not the counterparty.

1. Your stake

1.1 The Pool accepts your stake into the pool identified in the stake confirmation. Your stake is your contribution to the cooperative lending fund.

1.2 The stake is held in the Pool's regulated escrow / cooperative-account infrastructure. Circlworld does not hold the stake.

1.3 Your stake is capital at risk. The pool may lend it (within the loan-to-pool ratio documented in the pool's governance parameters). Borrowers may default. The waterfall reduces your loss; it does not erase it. You may lose part or all of your stake.

2. Lock-up and withdrawal

2.1 The portion of your stake that is lent is locked against the active loans it backs. You cannot withdraw the locked portion until those loans repay or close.

2.2 The portion of your stake that is idle in the pool (above the loan-to-pool ratio + reserve) may be withdrawn, subject to (a) the pool's withdrawal notice period documented in its governance parameters, (b) the pool's liquidity at the moment of request, and (c) any pool-level pause in effect.

2.3 Where the pool is in distress (excessive default, regulator intervention, governance freeze) all withdrawals may be paused. Notice is given to all Pool Contributors within the pool's governance process.

3. Return to you

3.1 Your share of the interest paid by borrowers — net of platform fees, regulated-vehicle fees, and the reserve / loss-absorption allocations — is credited to your stake on the schedule documented in the pool's parameters. There is no guaranteed return.

3.2 Returns vary with the pool's actual default experience, the prevailing interest rates the pool charges (jurisdiction-rate-capped), and the platform's calibration of the underwriting formula.

3.3 The pool's audit trail surfaces, in real time, your accrued return, your share of any default loss, and the components of your locked vs free balance.

4. Your obligations

4.1 You confirm that the source of staked capital is lawful and that you can stake under the law of your jurisdiction.

4.2 You will not stake into a pool whose jurisdiction is not your residence or where you are otherwise prohibited from doing so.

4.3 You will not attempt to coordinate lending decisions outside the documented governance process. The pool's governance is multi-signature; you participate in it through the platform's voting machinery, not through side channels.

5. Governance

5.1 The pool's parameters (reserve %, loan-to-pool cap, concentration caps, withdrawal notice period) are governance variables. Material changes to these parameters require the pool's documented amendment process — typically a Pool Contributor vote with a quorum and supermajority threshold.

5.2 The Pool operates within the pool's parameters. The Pool does not unilaterally vary them.

5.3 Loan approvals at L1+ require a multi-signature: the Treasurer or coordinator proposes; the council approves; the Pool executes. As a Pool Contributor, you participate in the council elections (if you hold standing in the pool) and in any direct-vote loan approvals where applicable.

6. Loss waterfall

6.1 When a borrower defaults, the Loss Waterfall Disclosure applies. Your stake absorbs only the residual after collateral liquidation, guarantor call, the borrower's own stake set-off, future-hand interception, and the pool's reserve.

6.2 The residual is shared pro-rata among the Pool Contributors of that specific loan. Pool-wide loss-sharing does not apply unless the loan's pool contributors are insufficient to absorb the residual.

6.3 The invariant — the residual is bounded by the unsecured trust the pool deliberately extended — is the design property that limits your exposure on any individual loan. It does not guarantee zero loss.

7. Disputes

7.1 Disputes about your pool stake's accounting, withdrawals, or returns are handled through the Dispute Settlement Centre under the Lending Dispute Pathway.

7.2 Where the disputed amount exceeds the platform's small-claims threshold, the matter proceeds in the courts of the Pool's jurisdiction.

7.3 You agree to the Platform Indemnification §3 in respect of any claim you might bring against Circlworld arising from this agreement.

8. The platform's role

8.1 You acknowledge that Circlworld is not the Pool. Circlworld provides the platform, the underwriting formulas, the governance plumbing, the audit trail, and the dispute pathway. Circlworld does not hold your stake, is not the counterparty to your pool contribution, and does not guarantee return.

9. Pool's co-operative form insolvency

9.1 If the Pool becomes insolvent or otherwise enters a regulatory resolution process, this agreement is governed by the cooperative / credit-union insolvency law of the Pool's jurisdiction.

9.2 Your stake and your share of active loans are administered under that law and the resolution authority appointed under it.

10. Tax

10.1 Returns you receive on staked capital may be taxable in your jurisdiction. Circlworld does not provide tax advice. The Pool issues tax reporting in accordance with its jurisdiction's requirements.

10.2 You are responsible for reporting and paying any tax due on your returns.

11. Anti-money-laundering

11.1 Your stake is subject to the Pool's AML / KYC procedures. The platform's KYC verification level required to stake is the same as required to borrow at the equivalent level (L0/L1 → L1 KYC; L2 → L2 KYC). Higher pool levels may apply additional verification.

11.2 The Pool may, in compliance with its AML obligations, freeze a stake pending verification of source of funds and report suspicious activity to the relevant authority.

12. Governing law

12.1 This agreement is governed by the law of the Pool's jurisdiction.

12.2 Where local consumer-protection / cooperative-society law overrides §12.1 in your favour, that local rule applies.

Reminder: template only. Not binding until specialised in your jurisdiction and signed by you and the Pool.