Trust & safety

Trust is the product.

Most marketplaces compete on price and inventory. We compete on trust - because in someone's home, with their kids, around their stuff, nothing else matters as much.

Trust & safety

The six guarantees that don't bend.

These six promises sit at the foundation of every booking. They're the bar we set for ourselves, and the contract we offer to every resident, provider, and property partner.

Verified before they're listed

Government ID, background check, references, and for skilled categories, credential verification. Every provider, no exceptions.

Your money waits safely

Payment is authorised at booking and held in escrow with our payment processor until you confirm the work is done.

Insured providers, written agreements

Every provider carries general liability insurance. Specialty categories require additional credential-specific coverage on file.

In-app chat only

No phone numbers exchanged, no emails shared. Communication stays in the app so it can be referenced if anything goes wrong.

24-hour dispute window

You have a full day after the work is marked complete to raise an issue. Escrow stays locked while a dispute is open.

Ratings from real neighbours

Reviews come from verified, completed bookings, never anonymous. Provider reputation is built on real work, not gamed.

Verification gates

Five gates. Every provider. Every time.

A provider can't take a single booking until every gate is cleared. We don't run "lite" tiers, we don't skip checks for friends, we don't grant exceptions for high-volume providers. The bar is the bar.

01

Government ID verification

Photo ID matched against a live selfie via a third-party identity service. No anonymous providers, ever.

SLA Same day
02

Criminal background check

Provincial criminal record check on every provider before listing. Re-run annually for active providers.

SLA 24–72 hrs
03

Reference checks

Two professional references called and logged. Skill verticals require subject-matter references (e.g., a music teacher provides a former student or studio).

SLA 2–5 days
04

Credential & skill verification

Trades verify licenses (electrical, plumbing, gas). Lessons providers complete a brief sample session. Childcare adds Vulnerable Sector Check.

SLA 3–7 days
05

General liability insurance

Minimum $2M general liability coverage on file for every active provider. Lapses auto-suspend the listing.

SLA Ongoing
Escrow flow

Where the money sits, every step.

The single most important diagram on the site. Money never moves directly from resident to provider until both sides confirm - or the system can safely release it on its own.

T+0
Booking confirmed
Held in escrow
T+work
Provider completes job
Held in escrow
T+complete
Resident confirms
Released to provider
T+24hr
No confirmation? Auto-release
Released - providers protected from ghost residents
T+flag
Resident raises issue
Held - trust team reviews within 48hrs
Dispute resolution

A real ladder, not a contact form.

When something goes wrong, and at scale, something always does, Swifli has a defined escalation path with real timelines. No support ticket black holes.

0 - Auto-resolution Immediate

For common issues (provider no-show within 15 min grace, resident never opens door): the system auto-refunds or auto-pays based on what the app recorded.

1 - Trust team review < 48 hours

Human review of message logs, photos, timestamps, and any uploaded evidence. Most disputes are decided here.

2 - Mediated conversation 2–5 days

For ambiguous cases, both parties are invited to a structured back-and-forth moderated by Trust. Goal: agreement on partial release.

3 - Final adjudication < 10 days

If mediation doesn't resolve, Swifli's Trust lead makes a final call documented in writing. Funds release. Account standing updated for both sides.

Privacy by design

Your data, where it should be.

Swifli is PIPEDA-aligned and built around three privacy commitments:

  • Providers never see your full address until you confirm the booking. Pre-match shows neighbourhood only.
  • Your phone number is masked through Swifli for the duration of any booking. Comms happen in-app.
  • Sensitive data is encrypted at rest and in transit. ID documents are stored separately from operational data with stricter access controls.

Something you need to flag?

Trust issues, safety concerns, or anything that doesn't feel right - we're staffed to respond within 24 hours.