A Tanda is the Latin American term for an informal rotating savings and credit association (ROSCAS). They are operated globally, but have over 200 different names that vary from country to country. This economic activity is practiced among various groups of people which are also known as cundinas (Mexico), susu/Osusu (West Africa and the Caribbean), hui (Asia), juntas (Peru), cuchubales (El Salvador and Guatemala), pollas (Chile), arisan (Indonesia), main kutu (Malaysia), pandeiros (Brazil), paluwagan (Philippines), Stokvel (South Africa), Syndicate(Belize), committee (India & Pakistan) or quiniela. An English name for such an association is a partnerhand. In short, a tanda is a form of a short-term no-interest loan among a group of friends and family. Structure The tanda is one of the most commonly followed informal associations in Mexico with 31% of the population actively participating in one. A tanda may be managed in different ways. The way it usually works is a group of people that know each other get together to collect money (either weekly, monthly, yearly) to help each other financially. Participants can come up with any rules as long as they benefit the group. Usually there is an amount of money and number of people in the group that they all agree to in order to have cash right away. When they come to an agreement of who will be in the tanda and how much it will be (either weekly, monthly, yearly), they have to come up with the order of who is going to receive the money. Participants can either raffle the numbers or make the decision in who needs the money most. It all depends on the group's decisions. As an example, a tanda is formed between ten friends and family. Each member gives $100 USD every two weeks to the group's organizer. At the end of the month, one participant gets the "pot", $2000. Or, each member gives $100 weekly, and each week one of the ten participants get the pot ($1,000). This continues until each member has received the pot. Rationale Tandas are formed for many reasons, but often because at least one member is in need of money to pay a debt right away, or an emergency arises. In the US, it can take many months or even years to get the Social Security Number needed to open traditional banking and credit card accounts. Tandas provide a way for immigrants and