Trust & vetting
How workers earn trust on eKasi
Criminal record checks in South Africa are slow and expensive, and they only catch previously convicted people — they don't predict good work. Instead, every eKasi worker climbs five trust levels — AWE, SHAP SHAP, EITA, CHAMP and BOSS — earned from community vouches, customers confirming real jobs, ratings, repeat business and clean behaviour. Levels only ever go up automatically; they come down only after a person reviews the case. No single signal is the whole story; together they are very difficult to fake.
We do not perform criminal background checks. Customers accept that workers are independent contractors who have not been criminally vetted by eKasi. Confirmations and reviews are personal statements from customers, not background checks.
This is not a marketplace. We are building trust, one vouch at a time.
Every vouch helps fix a bigger problem in South Africa. Here's what yours does:
Makes skilled workers visible
Millions of skilled workers have no CV and no online record. Your vouch starts a track record that belongs to them.
Opens doors for everyone
Foreign nationals and workers without a bank account often get shut out. A real customer's word counts more than paperwork.
Makes streets safer
When neighbours vouch for each other's workers, you're no longer letting a stranger in. People know who's coming.
Less cash on the taxi home
Workers get paid into their eKasi Wallet and cash out close to home, so they aren't carrying cash on a Friday.
The five trust levels
Every worker starts unranked and climbs as real customers confirm real work. Vouch count alone never qualifies a level — each step needs a mix of confirmations, completed jobs, ratings and a clean record. Full level FAQ
AWE
Vouched by the community
The worker has earned 2 vouch points — a confirmed customer counts double, a neighbour vouch counts once — and has a clean record with no trust flags. No ID documents are needed for this level.
SHAP SHAP
You're sorted
Customers can see that people have actually used and trusted this worker — several confirmed customer vouches, real completed jobs and a solid rating, with no unresolved incidents.
EITA
Established on eKasi
A proven local provider: five or more confirmed customer vouches from different households, five or more completed eKasi jobs and a strong average rating.
CHAMP
Highly trusted
Double-digit confirmed vouches, fifteen-plus completed jobs, many different customers and repeat business. An account in good standing with a clean safety record.
BOSS
Elite eKasi trust status
The top of the platform: twenty-plus confirmed customer vouches, thirty-plus completed jobs, an exceptional rating, strong repeat-customer history, full identity verification and a spotless trust record.
Before a worker is listed
1. Profile & suburb
Every worker signs up with their real name and the suburb they live or work in. This anchors them to a place and a community from day one.
2. Profile photo
A clear face selfie, taken with the camera on the worker’s phone (or uploaded), is required before going live. Households tell us this is the single biggest factor in whether they reach out.
3. Two vouch points
Workers share a vouch link with neighbours, past employers or community members. A confirmed customer counts double (2 points), a neighbour vouch counts once — so one customer confirmation, or two neighbour vouches, earns the first trust level: AWE. Every vouch runs through automated fraud checks the instant it is submitted — most confirm immediately, and anything suspicious is held for a person.
4. Final review
Once the photo and 2 vouch points are in, the profile goes to our team for a last look before it appears in the directory with the AWE level. Most approvals happen within 24 hours.
The layered trust signals on every profile
Each profile shows these signals as plain counts, so you can judge for yourself. We never publish a customer's name, contact details, address or exact location.
Verified on eKasi
Our top badge. Awarded by an admin once the provider's documents and details have been reviewed. It expires and must be renewed, so it always reflects a recent review.
Customer confirmations
The provider asks a past customer to confirm a specific job. Only the customer can answer — providers can never confirm their own work. Each answer is logged and counted on the profile.
Location-confirmed confirmations
When a customer answers, they may optionally share their location so we can check they were near the address where the work happened. This is the hardest signal to fake. Declining never counts against the provider, and the exact location is never shown publicly.
Repeat customers & completed services
How many different customers came back, and how many services were completed through eKasi. Real repeat business is very hard to manufacture.
Ratings & reviews
Customers rate a completed service out of five and can leave a comment. Reviews tied to a completed eKasi service are marked as verified.
Time on eKasi
How long the provider has been on the platform. New is not bad — but a long, clean history is worth a lot.
Extra trust badges (optional but encouraged)
Workers can stack badges on their profile over time. None of these are required to be listed, but each one gives households more confidence — and customers can filter by minimum trust level when they search.
ID Verified
Handled by our partner Didit (didit.me) — free DHA-backed checks for SA citizens, plus checks for passport, asylum permit, refugee ID and work visa. The selfie + document capture happens on the worker's phone. Workers without papers can still earn trust through vouches and address — no document, no problem.
Address Confirmed
Workers upload a utility bill, landlord letter, or ward councillor letter showing where they live. An admin reviews it before the badge appears.
Track Record
Earned over time from completed jobs and rehires. The longer a worker is on the platform doing good work, the stronger this badge becomes.
In-app verification
ID verification runs inside the app via our partner Didit. Workers start the session from their onboarding screen, complete a selfie and document capture on their phone, and the badge appears on their profile as soon as Didit returns a decision.
While they're working
Live location during the job
On accepted jobs the worker shares live location with the customer. It's a deterrent and proof of presence — and it auto-deletes 30 days after the job ends.
Reviews & rehire score
Every job ends with a review. The rehire count is the single strongest signal — workers protect it because the platform's customers can see it.
Fraud review
We watch for patterns that suggest fake trust — providers confirming for each other, the same contact used across several providers, bursts of confirmations, or brand-new accounts vouching. Flagged items go to a human for review; nothing is auto-banned, and a confirmation found to be false is discounted or removed.