Member Borrowing Agreement (template)

Status: v0.1 template. Not in force in any jurisdiction. This is the platform-level template that will be specialised into a binding contract once (a) the Members' co-operative legal form is registered in your jurisdiction and (b) counsel has signed off on the jurisdiction-specific addenda.

The actual binding agreement you sign at loan disbursement will be issued by the Members' co-operative, will reference this template, will incorporate the Pre-Contract Credit Information disclosed to you, and will be governed by the law of the co-operative's jurisdiction.

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 Borrower — the Member identified in the loan disclosure form.
• The Lender — the Members' own co-operative legal form registered in your jurisdiction, identified in the loan disclosure form by registered name and registration number.

Circlworld is not a party to this agreement. Circlworld's role is set out in the Lending Center charter and the Platform Indemnification.

1. The loan

1.1 The Lender agrees to lend, and you agree to borrow, the principal amount, on the term, at the interest rate, and on the schedule set out in the loan disclosure form.

1.2 The loan disclosure form is the Pre-Contract Credit Information document personalised for this transaction. It is issued before this agreement and forms part of it. By signing this agreement you confirm you have read and understood the disclosure.

1.3 The principal is split into an unsecured portion and a secured portion, as computed by the platform's underwriting formula at the moment of disclosure, using inputs frozen at that moment. The unsecured portion is backed by your Standing. The secured portion is backed by collateral you post under the Collateral Terms.

1.4 The unsecured/secured split is not adjustable after disbursement. A change in your Standing or affordability after disbursement does not retroactively rebalance the loan.

2. Disbursement

2.1 Disbursement occurs once: (a) you have signed this agreement; (b) you have signed any applicable Pre-Borrowing Risk Acknowledgement; (c) you have posted the collateral required for the secured portion; (d) any applicable guarantor has signed and the guarantor's consumed unsecured capacity has been confirmed; (e) the pool's governance approval (multi-signature) has executed.

2.2 The Lender disburses through the regulated escrow / payment infrastructure documented in the loan disclosure form. Circlworld does not touch the funds.

2.3 If disbursement does not occur within fourteen (14) days of approval for reasons attributable to the Lender, you may withdraw the application at no cost. Posted collateral is returned.

3. Your right to withdraw

3.1 In jurisdictions where the law provides a cooling-off / withdrawal period (the United Kingdom and most EU/UK successor jurisdictions provide fourteen (14) days under consumer-credit legislation), you may withdraw from this agreement during that period without giving any reason.

3.2 To withdraw, send written notice to the Lender at the address in the loan disclosure form. The Platform's "Withdraw loan" surface is sufficient written notice for jurisdictions where electronic notice is permitted.

3.3 You repay the principal disbursed, together with interest accrued for the period of use, within thirty (30) days of notice. No other charge applies.

4. Repayment

4.1 You repay the loan on the installment schedule in the disclosure form. Repayments may be made through the platform's repayment surface, which reflects the Lender's collection mechanism. Repayments are made to the Lender, not to Circlworld.

4.2 Where you are an active Member of a circle whose hand-payouts you have pledged as collateral, repayments may be collected at source from those payouts under the Collateral Terms. This is the "future-hand lien" mechanism documented in the Lending Center charter.

4.3 Early repayment is allowed at any time, in full or in part, without penalty. You may owe interest accrued up to the date of early repayment.

4.4 Where a repayment is late, you owe the installment together with reasonable late-payment interest at the rate disclosed. After thirty (30) days late on any installment, the Lender may declare the loan in default under §6.

5. Your obligations

5.1 You confirm that the information you provided to support the loan application (identity, residency, income, existing obligations, source of collateral) was true at the time it was provided. Material misrepresentation is grounds for immediate default declaration.

5.2 You will keep your contact details current with the Platform.

5.3 You will not transfer this agreement or your obligations under it to another party.

5.4 You will not pledge the same collateral against a second loan without releasing it from this one first.

6. Default

6.1 The Lender may declare the loan in default if:

• any installment is more than thirty (30) days late;
• you make a material misrepresentation under §5.1;
• you are declared insolvent, bankrupt, or equivalent under the law of your residence; or
• a guarantor's consent is withdrawn under circumstances permitted by the Guarantor Terms and no replacement is posted within thirty (30) days.

6.2 On default, the Lender executes the loss waterfall documented in the Loss Waterfall Disclosure:

1. Collateral is liquidated.
2. Any guarantor is called for their consumed unsecured capacity.
3. Your own stake in the lending fund is set off.
4. Future hand payouts you are due from circles are intercepted.
5. The pool's reserve is drawn against.
6. Any residual is shared by the pool's funders.

6.3 The platform-side consequences of default — Standing penalty, Financial Reliability Record, borrowing freeze — apply automatically and are not separately litigable from the underlying loan. See the Platform Indemnification §2.4.

6.4 The Lender remains entitled to recover any residual the waterfall does not cover, through the courts of the Lender's jurisdiction, where the disputed amount exceeds the platform's small-claims threshold per the Lending Dispute Pathway.

7. Disputes about this agreement

7.1 Disputes about installments, balances, late charges, the collateral release process, or any other operational matter under this agreement are handled through the Dispute Settlement Centre under the Lending Dispute Pathway.

7.2 Stage 1 Conciliation is free to both sides. Stages 2 Mediation and 3 Decision Room have cost-sharing rules documented in the pathway.

7.3 Where the disputed amount exceeds the platform's small-claims threshold or the dispute concerns enforcement against pledged property, the matter proceeds in the courts of the Lender's jurisdiction. You agree to that forum.

8. The platform's role

8.1 You acknowledge that Circlworld is not the Lender under this agreement. Circlworld provides the underwriting engine, the governance plumbing, the audit trail, and the dispute pathway. Circlworld does not hold the funds, does not move the funds, and is not a counterparty to this loan.

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

9. Regulated vehicle insolvency

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

9.2 In the United Kingdom, this typically means resolution under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Credit Unions Act 1979, supervised by the relevant authority. In Jamaica, the Co-operative Societies Act and the relevant credit-union supervisor.

9.3 Active loans typically transfer to a successor cooperative or a winding-down administrator; collateral is held under the same resolution. The platform will provide a current status notification to you within a reasonable period of becoming aware of the event.

10. Privacy and data

10.1 The personal data you provided for this loan is processed under the Privacy Policy and the Data Protection Policy.

10.2 The Lender and the platform share the data necessary to operate the loan. The Lender separately handles the data under the privacy policy in your loan disclosure form.

10.3 A default may result in a Financial Reliability Record being written. This record is portable across the platform and may be disclosed, with notice to you, to credit reference agencies or successor lenders in your jurisdiction where the law allows.

11. Governing law

11.1 This agreement is governed by the law of the Lender's jurisdiction.

11.2 Where local consumer-protection law overrides §11.1 in your favour, that local rule applies.

12. Severability and amendments

12.1 If any clause of this agreement is held unenforceable, the rest stays in force. The unenforceable clause is replaced with the closest enforceable formulation.

12.2 Material changes to this agreement during its term require your written consent. Non-material changes (typo fixes, clarification of process) may be applied by the Lender with thirty (30) days notice.

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