How do you vet your sitters?

Our community is built on the goal of connecting neighborhood parents with neighborhood sitters. Bambino is a tool to make these connections easier and more convenient. We believe strongly that trust is best gained through physical and social proximity and we strive to create a community that relies on its neighbors and friends for verification, not a corporate certification process.

For any of our sitters to join, they must receive a recommendation from at least one parent. When parents are selecting a sitter, we encourage them to see what sitters their friends have used, read the sitter reviews, and make an informed decision. 

In addition to the required recommendation, all sitters must pass multiple identity verification checks. These include the following:

ID Verification (Stripe):

All sitters 18y and older without previous confirmed sits are required to pass Social Security verified ID verification through our partner Stripe. The data collection, storage and verification is processed by Stripe. Sitters who are 13-15 years old are not required to complete this verification and this step is optional for sitters 16-17 years old. 

KYC - Know Your Customer Check:

This check runs through law enforcement databases to confirm the sitter is not on any government watchlist.

OFAC - Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Depart of the Treasury Check:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes (including terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States), based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. In short, this check verifies that the sitter is not a threat to national security. 

MasterCard MATCH Check: 

The MasterCard MATCH File is a database file used by payment processing banks to identify specific merchants and principals who may have been terminated for reasons like fraud or violations of Visa and/or MasterCard rules. This check verifies that the sitter has not been flagged by MasterCard or Visa for high-risk activities. 

Sex Offender Background Check:

Family Watchdog is a service to help locate registered sex offenders by address and name. We have partnered with the database to screen all parents and sitters who register.  If the system identifies a possible match the profile is flagged and blocked and we are alerted.  

Cell Phone Verification: 

When a new sitter creates a profile their cell phone number is verified by entering a six-digit code texted to them by Bambino. We ensure users are registered with valid carriers in the United States and not using internet phone numbers or untraceable phones

Additionally, sitters 18 years and older have the option of submitting for a more comprehensive background check. When they do, a third-party background checking service verifies their identity through their Social Security number, checks them against the Sex Offender Registry and Global Watchlist, and checks them against national and county criminal records. If the sitter clears all the checks, they get an icon on their profile signifying that they have been cleared. If they do not clear the background check process, they will not appear on the app at all.  All sitters designated as "Elite" have cleared this comprehensive background check.

Parents have always relied on their friends’ recommendations to select sitters and with Bambino, it is no different—just more convenient! Nevertheless, we always encourage our families to contact their friends should they have any additional questions about the sitters.