How Gumboot Keeps Jobs Safe and Payments Simple

When you’re inviting someone to your place or paying them to get something done, trust matters.

Gumboot is built so that both sides — posters and helpers — feel safer about who they’re dealing with, what’s agreed, and how money moves.

Here’s how we approach safety and payments.

Verified profiles (not random accounts)

We’re working towards a world where every active user has:

A real name

A valid email

A verified phone number

A basic profile with a photo and info

The goal is simple: fewer mystery accounts, more real people.

As the platform grows, we’ll continue tightening verification to make it harder for bad actors and easier for good humans.

Ratings & reviews that actually mean something

After each job, both sides leave a review.

Over time, this builds up a picture of:

Who turns up on time

Who does quality work

Who communicates clearly

Who you probably don’t want to work with again

We want reviews to feel useful, not just “5 stars, great”. Expect short, honest feedback that helps future posters and helpers make better choices.

Payments powered by Stripe

No more sending money to random bank accounts and hoping for the best.

Gumboot uses Stripe to handle payments, which means:

Cards and details are handled by a global, battle-tested platform

You get proper receipts & transaction records

Refunds and disputes have a process, not just a Messenger argument

Right now we’re keeping it simple:

Posters see clear pricing before they confirm

Helpers can see what they’ll earn after fees

Funds are transferred securely, not in a plastic bag or cash envelope

No-shows & cancellations

Life happens — but we still want things to be fair.

We’re designing policies and tools to handle:

Posters cancelling last-minute

Helpers not turning up

Jobs changing scope mid-way

During beta, we’re collecting real stories and feedback so our approach feels realistic and human, not just legal fine print.

In-app messaging

We strongly recommend keeping all key communication inside Gumboot, such as:

Agreed time and location

Job details and expectations

Changes to scope or price

Why? Because if something goes wrong, in-app messages help us see what was actually agreed and offer better support.

Our promise (and what we’re not)

We can’t promise perfection. No platform can.

But we can promise to:

Keep improving safety tools over time

Be clear about how payments and fees work

Listen when something goes wrong and try to fix it

Gumboot isn’t trying to be a faceless marketplace. We’re a small tech startup in Aotearoa, building the kind of platform we’d want our own friends and whānau to use.

If you ever feel something’s off with a job, a user or a payment, reach out to us early. The sooner we know, the more we can help.