How EWG Properties Verifies Income — and What You'll Need to Do

Our Income Standard

Before we get into how verification works, here's what we're looking for: verifiable income of at least 2.5 times the monthly rent. That's the threshold we apply to every application. If the monthly rent is $1,200, we need to see at least $3,000 in verified monthly income.

What counts toward that number is broader than most people expect — which is where Payscore makes a real difference. We'll cover that in detail below.

Why We Use Payscore Instead of Pay Stubs

We can still accept traditional pay stubs and bank statements — and we do in certain situations. But over time, we've moved toward digital verification as our standard, and there are good reasons for it on both sides of the process.

For us: Payscore pulls data directly from the financial institution, so we see your actual income as reported at the source — no cross-referencing documents or follow-up requests needed. We get a more accurate picture and can move faster.

For you: Connecting a bank account takes about five minutes. You don't have to find, scan, or email anything. If you're self-employed, do gig work, earn tips, or have income that doesn't show cleanly on a W-2, digital verification actually works in your favor — all of it shows up. Traditional pay stubs often exclude exactly this kind of income and lead to false rejections for people who are well-qualified.

The bottom line: it's faster, it's more accurate, and it gives us a fairer view of what you actually earn.

Step by Step: What You'll Do

Once your application is submitted, here's what the income verification process looks like from your side:

1. You'll receive an invite from Payscore After you apply, we send a Payscore verification request to the email address on your application. It comes directly from Payscore — not from us — and typically arrives within one business day.
2. Create a Payscore account Click the link, set a password, and you're in. This takes under two minutes.
3. Connect your bank or payroll provider Choose to link your checking account or your payroll provider (like ADP or Paychex). Payscore connects to 20,000+ financial institutions — if you bank somewhere, it's almost certainly on the list. You log in using your normal banking credentials. Those credentials go directly to your bank through a secure connection; Payscore never sees them or stores them.
4. Review what will be shared before submitting Before anything is sent to us, you'll see a preview of the income report. You can add a note to explain anything — a gap in income, a job change, a one-time large deposit — but you cannot alter the underlying data. What's in your bank is what gets reported.
5. Submit the report Hit submit. The report is delivered to our leasing team instantly. We'll typically follow up on your application within one to two business days.

What Counts as Income

This is one of the most important things to understand: Payscore captures all income that flows through your bank account, not just W-2 wages. If it's deposited consistently, it counts.

Payscore separates recurring income (consistent, patterned deposits) from non-recurring income (one-time or irregular). We look primarily at recurring income to evaluate your application. Non-recurring deposits are visible on the report, and we may take them into account, but they're not the primary factor.

What We See — and What We Don't

We understand that connecting your bank account can feel like a lot. Here's the exact scope of what the Payscore report shows us:

We see: Your income sources and monthly deposit totals, employment details if you connected a payroll provider, an account holder name confirmation, and up to 12 months of income history broken down by source.

We do not see: Your account number or routing number, your spending history, your outgoing payments or bills, your account balance beyond a summary average, or anything unrelated to income.

The connection is income-focused and read-only by design. We get what we need to make a decision — nothing more.

Your Data Is Secure

Payscore is built to the same security standards used by major financial platforms:

• Read-only access. Payscore cannot initiate transactions, move money, or make any changes to your account. It can only read.
• Credentials are never stored. Your banking login is used once to establish the connection and is not retained by Payscore.
• SOC 2 certified. Payscore has completed an independent SOC 2 security audit — the same certification standard used by banks and healthcare companies.
• 256-bit AES encryption. Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit using the same standard as major financial institutions.
• Data is deleted after use. Once your application is processed, Payscore deletes your information. It is not retained or sold.

What If I'd Rather Submit Pay Stubs?

We accept both Payscore and traditional documentation — pay stubs, bank statements, or other standard income records. Either method is fully valid.

If you prefer to submit documents directly rather than connecting through Payscore, reach out to us at leasing@eastwestgroup.io before completing your application and we’ll set that up for you.

Payscore tends to move faster and works especially well for non-traditional income, but the choice is yours. Both paths lead to the same review process and the same criteria.

Housing Voucher Applicants

If you're applying with a housing voucher or rental assistance, your situation involves a few additional steps that Payscore doesn't cover on its own. Please reach out to us directly at leasing@eastwestgroup.io before applying so we can walk you through the process for your specific property.

What Happens After Verification

Once we receive your Payscore report, it's reviewed alongside your background check and the rest of your application. You'll typically hear back from us within one to two business days. If we have questions about anything in your report — a gap in income, a job change, something that needs context — we'll reach out to you directly before making a decision.

If you haven't received your Payscore invite within one business day of submitting your application, check your spam folder first, then contact us at leasing@eastwestgroup.io and we'll resend it.