Everything WorkPay

Why front-loading works Every WorkPay application is underwritten against three checks: the identity of the owners, the business itself, and the money it moves. A pending application happens when one of those checks cannot be completed from what was submitted, and we have to come back to you for more. Collecting the items below up front lets us verify all three in one review. Complete and consistent beats fast and partial every time.

The packet:

1. Government-issued ID, front and back, for every owner and the control person
   Send: A clear color image of the front and the back of a valid driver license or state ID for each individual who owns 25 percent or more of the business, plus the one person who controls it.
   
   Why we ask: Federal Customer Due Diligence rules require us to verify the real people behind the business, not just the entity.
   
   What it validates: Identity and beneficial ownership, and sanctions and watchlist screening against the correct person. It clears identity mismatch flags before they ever become a pend.

2. Articles of Incorporation or Organization
   Send: The state-filed formation document for the business.
   
   Why we ask: It proves the entity legally exists and confirms the exact legal name, entity type, and formation state.
   
   What it validates: Business existence and legal name, so the name lines up across the application, the bank account, and tax records.

3. IRS SS-4 or EIN confirmation letter
   Send: The IRS SS-4 confirmation letter, the CP 575, or a 147C letter showing the EIN and legal business name.
   
   Why we ask: It ties the EIN to the exact legal name the IRS has on file.
   
   What it validates: The tax ID. This prevents EIN and name mismatch pends and keeps 1099-K reporting accurate.

4. Four months of business bank statements
   Send: The four most recent monthly statements for the business operating account, all pages included.
   
   Why we ask: They show real operating cash flow and confirm the settlement account belongs to the business.
   
   What it validates: Ownership of the funding account and enough revenue history to support the requested processing volume and ticket size. This is what clears higher requests without extra review.

5. Prior processing statements, if available:

   Send: The two or three most recent monthly statements from a previous card processor.

   Why we ask: They are the clearest evidence of real processing history.

   What it validates: Actual volume, average and high ticket, and chargeback history. This is the strongest support for approving higher limits on the first pass.

   The best path to auto-approval

   The single biggest driver of a no-pend approval is consistency. Before submitting, confirm that the legal business name, the address, the ownership percentages, and the EIN read the same across the ID, the formation document, the SS-4, and the bank statements.
   
   When those four line up and the packet is complete, the file clears identity, business, and banking checks in one review. One more note that saves time. Please make sure the application is completed by the individual with controlling authority and route any documents that can't be verified to our underwriting email rather than Slack, so nothing is missed.