LEPTA
A NEW WAY TO BORROW WHEN YOU NEED IT.
Rather than looking to 3rd party institutions (payday lenders, credit card & insurance companies, the government), LEPTA is a tool to share the need for credit among groups of individuals.
WHAT IS IT, EXACtly?
LEPTA is a shared pool of money.
Depositors can put in any amount at any time, earn rewards for doing so (more on that later).
Borrowers can withdraw up to $400 at any time - permissionlessly and anonymously. What you do with that money is completely up to you.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
If you pay the $400 back, plus a pay-what-you-want tip, you earn points that let you borrow more from the pool next time.
The more you pay back to the pool, and the more timely you pay back, the more points you get.
Points are calculated using a convex dividend rate. That just means you’ll get more points for long-term generosity to the pool compared to your first tip.
Depending on the pool as a whole is doing (i.e. is it running out of funds?) the dividend rate is adjusted. For example, a 5% tip when the funds are low would accrue more points than that same tip when the pool is larger.
Depositors to the pool get to share these tips between them, based on how long they’ve held their deposit in the pool, and what share of the pool their deposits represent.
From Interest Rates to Shared Interest
From Credit to Community
From Proprietary to Radically Transparent
FAQ
How much can I borrow?
At first, you can borrow up to $400, and it goes up from there based on the amount of points you accrue.
How many points will I get?
The rate at which points are distributed is based on how quickly you pay back, how much you tip, how consistently you've tipped in the past, and how the overall pool is doing at the time you took your loan.
What happens if I never pay my loan back?
Nothing! You just won't accrue any points, and won't be able to come back for another loan.