Threads of Trust: The Transformation of Trust-Based Informal Financial Systems (ROSCAs–Tontines) among Senegalese Migrant Women in Spain and Italy

Abstract (English)

This study explores how West African migrant women in Spain and other migratory contexts adapt traditional informal financial systems—known as ROSCAs (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations) or tontines—to digital environments. Focusing on platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and peer-to-peer payment systems, it analyzes how these women maintain financial practices across borders. While digital tools facilitate mobile money transfers and virtual meetings, the study also reveals a decline in the social ties that have historically sustained these community-based financial networks.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with Senegalese and Gambian migrants in Spain (Burgos and Calella) and Italy (Rome), the paper examines three key areas of transformation within these digitalized tontine systems. First, it analyzes the enforcement of sanctions against defaulters. Whereas sanctions were traditionally embedded within sociocultural norms and customary legal structures—often enforced through family-based pressure—migrant communities now increasingly turn to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to publicly denounce those who default. Second, the study addresses the transformation of monetary transactions. The customary in-person cash handover has been largely replaced by mobile payment services such as Bizum, enabling real-time, remote financial exchanges. Third, it investigates the virtualization of tontine meetings. Once centered on physical gatherings for fund distribution and social bonding, these meetings are now frequently held via digital platforms such as WhatsApp and Zoom, accommodating participants' diverse schedules and geographical dispersion.
The primary aim of the paper is to show how digital technologies enable the continuity of traditional microfinance practices in transnational contexts. At the same time, it underscores a critical trade-off: the digitization of tontines, while practical and inclusive, may weaken the interpersonal relationships and collective trust that have long been the foundation of these financial networks.