Inspiration
After watching friends struggle with high-interest payday loans when facing car repairs or medical bills—while trusting friend groups already shared informal financial support—I saw an opportunity to formalize this trust-based model. Traditional banks ignored our tight-knit community’s needs, so I built a platform that turns peer trust into accessible emergency funds.
What it does
MutualAid Circle lets 10 members contribute $100 monthly to a shared fund. Members request emergency loans (up to fund balance) that get approved via peer voting (7+ yes votes). Repayments are structured over 3-6 months, with full transparency via a real-time financial ledger and repayment trackers.
How we built it
I started with wireframing core pages (Dashboard, Loan Voting, Ledger) in Figma, prioritizing mobile-first design. I built the frontend with React and TailwindCSS for clean, card-based UI, integrated Chart.js for fund trend graphs, and used Firebase to store transaction data and vote counts. I focused on real-time vote updates and immutable transaction logging to ensure transparency.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest hurdle was building real-time vote validation—preventing duplicate votes and auto-updating loan status when the 7-vote threshold was met. I also struggled to balance visual simplicity with showing all critical financial data (contributions, repayments, loan status) without cluttering the UI.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Creating a fully functional platform where every transaction is transparent, votes update in real time, and the UI stays intuitive. Users can track loans, repayments, and fund status at a glance—no confusing jargon or hidden steps. The mobile-responsive design works seamlessly across phones and desktops, matching how we actually access financial tools.
What we learned
I deepened my skills in real-time state management with React, and learned how to design financial tools that prioritize trust and transparency over complexity. Most importantly, I realized that community-focused finance tools need to center simplicity—users don’t want spreadsheets, they want clear, visual updates on their shared fund.
What's next for this project
First, add member profiles with customizable preferences (e.g., repayment reminder preferences). Then, integrate secure payment links to automate monthly contributions, and build a notification system for vote requests/repayment deadlines. Long-term, expand to support multiple circles per user and add optional credit-building features for repayments.
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