How it works
Giving and asking, step by step
Swipe a Need connects people who need help with a bill or an everyday need with people who want to help.
Swipe a Need is not open to the public yet. The app isn’t in the app stores, no requests are live, and payments and payouts are not enabled. This page describes how the service is designed to work. Where a safeguard depends on a provider or approval we don’t have yet, we say so.
If you want to give
Browse requests
Swipe through requests in the app. Each one shows what it’s for, the amount needed and the due date.
Swipe to see your options
Swiping right opens your giving options or adds the request to your basket. It never charges you.
Choose and confirm
Pick $1, $2, $5 or $10, or enter your own amount of at least $1. You review the breakdown and confirm before any gift is made.
Recognition, only if you want it
You can appear in community rankings and earn badges. It’s optional and off until you turn it on.
If you need help
Create a request
In the app, choose the kind of need, add a title, the amount and the due date, and, if you like, your story.
Add supporting documents
You may be asked for a document, such as a bill statement. Your legal name, address and documents are collected separately and are not shown on your public request.
Review before publishing
Our team will review your request before it appears in the app, and may ask for more information.
Verify to receive funds
You can submit a request before verifying your identity, but no payout will be made until identity, compliance and payout checks are complete. Identity verification is planned and isn’t available yet.
Keep What You Raise
What is raised goes to your request even if the goal isn’t reached.
Kinds of requests
Requests can be for rent, utilities, electricity, water, gas, internet, phone, medical costs, childcare, transportation, groceries, fuel, baby supplies, household needs and other bills.
Documented bills and self-reported needs
A documented bill comes with a supporting document, such as a bill statement. Some everyday needs, like groceries or fuel, often don’t have a bill. These are planned to be shown without supporting documents, described in the recipient’s own words and not independently verified. That isn’t switched on yet: for now, every request needs a supporting document.
Identity verification confirms who the recipient is. It doesn’t confirm the details of a bill or need. Read more about what we check.
Payouts
Funds will be paid out only after the recipient’s identity, compliance and payout checks are complete, and each payout will need approval from two members of our team. Payouts are planned to go to the recipient’s verified bank account. Payments and payouts are not enabled yet. See how money moves.
Under Keep What You Raise, what is raised goes to the request even if the goal isn’t reached. Gifts aren’t automatically refunded when a goal isn’t met, and are never redirected to another request.
Fees and optional tips
This is how fees will work once payments are enabled.
- No mandatory platform fee.
- Donors pay no processing fees. Applicable card processing and payout costs are borne by the recipient.
- Optional tip. You can add a tip for Swipe a Need. It starts at $0, is shown separately, and goes to Swipe a Need, not the recipient.
Gifts are discretionary: nothing is delivered in return, and gifts are not tax-deductible. Payments are not enabled yet, and no payment is taken on this website.
Who can take part
Swipe a Need is for people in the United States who are 18 or older.