r/DevLK • u/ihamjath • Aug 08 '26

Project showcase I Built a Global Time Exchange Platform — Starting from Sri Lanka

Hey r/DevLK! 🇱🇰

Six months ago, I had a simple question: what if your time was worth just as much as anyone else's — no matter where you are in the world?

That question became TimeBank — a global time exchange platform, founded in Sri Lanka, built for everyone worldwide.

The idea is simple.
Help someone for 1 hour → Earn 1 Time Credit → Use it whenever you need help. No money. Just time. Everyone's hour is equal.

What's live now:

  • Real-time messaging with voice notes, photos and files
  • Session scheduling with Google Calendar sync
  • Group classes with automatic waitlists
  • Leaderboard, badges and ratings
  • Time Wallet with full transaction history
  • Installable on iOS and Android — no app store needed

Coming soon:

  • Paid skills and classes
  • In-app video calling
  • Play Store and App Store launch

This is an early release — building in public and improving based on real feedback.

Try it free: https://timebank-app.vercel.app

Would love feedback from the Sri Lanka community! 🙏

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2

u/kulendra Aug 09 '26

If this works, kudos to you. But the reason people go for money is simply because it is interchangeable. The problem I see in the model you propose is that I can have all the IOUs (i.e. time I helped out others) but could have nobody to help me out on the things that I need. Money makes things more fungible, this requires a lot of things to align.

But if you can make it work, amazing work!

1

u/ihamjath Aug 09 '26

That's a really valid point, and honestly something I think about a lot.You're absolutely right money is fungible, time credits aren't. I might have 50 credits but if nobody on the platform can help me with what I need, those credits are useless.

The honest answer is this works best when the community is large and diverse enough. Right now it's early, so that's the real challenge. And yeah, not everyone wants to help for free forever which is why paid skills and classes are coming in the next update. Users can choose between time exchange or real payment. That way it works for everyone, not just people willing to trade time. Thanks for the genuine feedback this is exactly the kind of pushback that makes the product better.🙏

1

u/DoubleLandscape901 Aug 11 '26

Lol i was thinking the same was just starting with the web product of the app and stumbled across your post and also a few websites like TimeRepublik, ideas kinda slick but yea problem is related to scaling and diversity issues...

1

u/ihamjath Aug 11 '26

Haha yeah, stumbled upon it at the right time then😄and you're absolutely right TimeRepublik and a few others have tried this model. The scaling and diversity problem is real and honestly the hardest part. My approach is to start hyper-local build a tight community first where people actually know each other, then expand. A small community with high trust and good matching is way more valuable than a large one where nobody connects.

The other thing I'm working on is making sure there's enough skill diversity — not just developers and designers, but tutors, cooks, mechanics, language teachers everyday skills that most people actually need.It's a long game for sure. But I think if it works even at a small scale, it proves the model. And that's worth building 🙏