Childcare you can verify, payment you can trust.

Once both you and the family have confirmed departure using the check-in tool, your payment enters a 7-day review window — the same practice commonly used in Paystack's own market to give everyone a fair chance to flag a problem before money moves. If no dispute is raised on that booking, your full booking fee is paid out to your own bank account once the window closes. If a dispute is open on your booking, payment stays held until Elite Traders Lounge resolves it — nothing is paid out while a dispute is unresolved, to protect both sides. Confirming departure promptly (don't wait until later) is the single biggest thing you can do to start the clock sooner.

Yes. Family cancellations 48+ hours before the booking get a 100% refund; 24–48 hours' notice refunds 50%; under 24 hours refunds 25%; a family no-show forfeits the full amount to the babysitter. If a babysitter cancels, you get the babysitter's fee back in full. See the full refund & cancellation policy for every tier.

Smile ID confirms real identity for both families and babysitters before any payment or booking — usually within 5–10 minutes. It's the single biggest protection against fraud and unsafe placements on the platform, alongside our proof-of-address and reference-affidavit checks.

Try to resolve it directly within 24 hours first. If that fails, submit a formal complaint via Report a concern with your booking reference and evidence — Elite Traders Lounge investigates within 5 business days and issues a decision within 10. While a dispute is open on a booking, that booking's payment is automatically held — no funds move to either party until the dispute is marked resolved. Either party can escalate to independent arbitration afterward.

Yes — income from bookings is taxable under South African law and should be declared to SARS. Elite Traders Lounge does not provide tax advice; keep your transaction records and consult a tax professional if needed.

Every booking gets a reference number and PIN. On arrival, both the babysitter and the parent/guardian independently confirm using the check-in tool; the session officially starts once both confirmations are in. The same dual confirmation happens at departure, and the worked hours are calculated automatically — protecting the babysitter's pay, the family's booking, and giving Elite Traders Lounge a clear record for any dispute.

Both — it's a shared responsibility. Right before the babysitter leaves the property, the parent/guardian and the babysitter should remind each other to confirm departure using the check-in tool, on the spot, rather than leaving it for later. It only takes a moment, it protects the babysitter's pay and the family's record of the booking, and it starts the 7-day payment review window sooner.

No — all payments must run through Paystack. Families pay the booking total upfront by card, and the babysitter is paid out to her own bank account once the booking is complete and confirmed by both sides. Cash arrangements made outside the platform aren't covered by our dispute resolution, fraud protection, or payment guarantees.

Yes. Elite Traders Lounge reserves the right to refuse, suspend, or cancel service to any family or babysitter who breaches these terms, provides false information, or acts unsafely — see our full Terms & Conditions for the right-to-refuse-service disclaimer.