Good questions, answered plainly.

A paluwagan is a rotating savings circle. A group agrees to contribute the same amount each round, and every round the whole pot goes to one member, until everyone has had a turn. It is a long-standing Filipino way of saving together.

It helps your group organize the circle and keeps everything in the open: it records each contribution, shows whose turn it is, and keeps one shared history that all members can see. It replaces the notebook and the guesswork, not the trust within your group.

Paluwagan is powered by Kabuhayan but is its own dedicated app, focused only on savings circles. Same team and the same standards for keeping things transparent and safe.

No. Paluwagan never holds or moves your money. Members send their contribution directly to each round’s recipient. The app confirms and logs each payment so the whole group can see it. We are not a bank, e-wallet, or lender.

No. A paluwagan is savings, not an investment. You get back exactly what you put in, with no interest and no profit. It simply lets a group take turns receiving the pot.

Because every contribution is logged and visible to all members, a missed payment is clear to everyone right away. The organizer and the group can follow up together. Transparency is the whole point.

We collect only what is needed to run your circle and to keep it secure, and we do not sell your personal data. See our Privacy policy for the full details.

It depends on how it is run, and that is exactly where the red flags show. Regulators have warned about online paluwagan apps that ask you to send money to an organizer, or that promise returns. Paluwagan by Kabuhayan is built to avoid those risks: the app never holds or moves your money, because members pay each other directly; there is zero return and no interest, because it is savings and not an investment; and every payment is visible to the whole circle. It is not a bank, e-wallet, lender, or insurer. No app can vouch for the people in your circle, so you still choose members you trust, but full transparency makes it far harder to hide anything.

You can create a group and invite members, or join an existing circle with an invite. Everyone agrees on the amount, how often to pay, and the payout order before the circle begins.

A circle works best with a small group who know and trust one another, from 3 to 15 members. The payout order and length adjust to your group size.

The idea is the same, it just removes the guesswork. No paper notebook and no long group chats to confirm who paid. Everyone sees the same live view of who is in, whose turn is next, and where things stand.

Joining the waitlist is free, and using Paluwagan to organize your circle will be free during our early launch. We will always be upfront about any future pricing.

We are rolling out gradually. Join the waitlist and we will email you the moment early access opens in your area, and save a slot for you on the App Store and Google Play.