BeanPool is a community exchange where everyone starts at zero. You earn beans by helping others and spend them when others help you. No money changes hands, and there are no corporate middlemen — just these simple rules.
Beans measure the value you've given and received (roughly, time). Zero is the goal — it means you've given about as much as you've taken.
You join by invitation. From day one you can browse and receive beans. Once you hold beans (by earning them or receiving a gift), you can spend them. To spend on credit, you must post at least one Offer (see §4 and §5). New members start with no credit line — you can only spend beans you actually have until your line is activated by your first completed trade (or if a voucher gives you a starter floor — see §9).
Your credit line lets you go a little negative — spending before you've earned it back. It's earned, not given:
Earning trust sets your credit limit (how deep you can potentially go). But to actually draw on that credit, you must keep active Offers posted. This ensures that anyone carrying debt is actively showing the community how they plan to contribute.
The number of active offers you keep posted determines how much credit is unlocked:
| Active offers | Unlocked credit line |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 — spend held beans only |
| 1 | Down to −200 Beans |
| 2 | Down to −500 Beans |
| 3 | Down to −1000 Beans |
| 4 | Down to −1500 Beans |
| 5 | Down to −2000 Beans (system cap) |
Your actual spending limit is the smaller of what you've earned and what your active offers unlock.
For example: If you have earned a −600 limit through trades, keeping 2 active offers unlocks −500 of it. Keeping a 3rd offer unlocks your full −600 limit (you never need a 4th or 5th offer because your earned limit is already reached).
Two small charges, and both flow into the Community Commons — a shared pool your community votes to spend on local projects. Nothing is lost to a corporation.
a) Marketplace fee — 1.5% on completed trades. When a marketplace sale settles, the seller nets 1.5% less than the price and the difference goes to the commons. Gifts (direct sends between members) are free — as are refunds and system moves.
b) Circulation fee on positive balances — monthly, and only on the part above 200. Like progressive brackets, each band is charged only on the slice of your balance inside it:
| Balance band | Monthly circulation rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 200 | Free green zone |
| 200 – 500 | 1% |
| 500 – 1000 | 1.5% |
| 1000 – 2000 | 2% |
| 2000+ | 2.5% |
This gently encourages beans to circulate rather than pile up. Negative balances never incur a circulation fee — you're already carrying credit for the community. Note the +200 free zone mirrors the first −200 credit band, so the system is symmetric around zero.
Marketplace trades are held safely in escrow (held in trust by the system) until the deal is done, then released to the seller (minus the 1.5% fee). If a deal is cancelled, the buyer is refunded in full.
A trusted, community-appointed voucher can give a newcomer a starter floor of 25, 50, or 100 beans so they can begin using credit before they've earned it. These are typically awarded — entirely at the voucher's discretion — to people whose posts and contributions the voucher finds genuinely engaging and inspiring. It's optional either way: no one needs a vouch to take part, since you also open your credit line simply by trading (§3).