The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is working to enable Provident Fund (PF) withdrawals through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and ATMs as part of its EPFO 3.0 initiative. The facility to withdraw PF through UPI and ATMs is expected to be introduced by May or June month 2025. This move will make PF withdrawals instant instead of the days taken by the previous claim process.
Sumita Dawra, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment said “EPFO members will soon be able to withdraw provident fund instantly through UPI and ATM by May/June up to the amount of Rs 1 lakh” while speaking to the press. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has already given its approval on the initiative.
Key Features announced:
- Instant withdrawals: EPFO members will be able to withdraw their funds instantly through UPI and ATMs, reducing processing time from days to mere minutes.
- Withdrawal Limit: The members can withdraw funds up to Rs 1 lakh through UPI and ATMs.
- UPI integration: The EPFO members will also be able to view their PF account balances directly using the UPI apps.
- Expanded withdrawal purposes: The members will be able to withdraw funds for housing, education and marriage along with medical uses which was the case earlier.
Prior to these features, the PF withdrawal process used to take 3-30 days depending on the method the members used to file claim. If a member filed a claim online through EPFO portal, the claim request was usually processed within 3 to 7 days to disburse funds to the linked bank account of the member. In case of offline withdrawals i.e., manual submission of forms with the EPFO office or employer, the processing time was 15-30 days. The offline claim requests were hassle-ridden as they involved depending on employer and multiple documents. The new UPI and ATM based system removes the need for such lengthy processes and provides a much-needed control to the members.
Initiative to make EPFO services banking-like
This move is a broader part of EPFO’s broader initiative to implement EPFO 3.0 that aims to digitise and make its services more ‘banking-like’ where its members can perform transactions seamlessly. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister of Labour and Employment of India had announced the imminent rollout of EPFO 3.0 earlier this month.
The EPFO has streamlined its digital infrastructure with integration of over 120 databases, reducing claim processing time to 3 days with 95% claims being automated, the Secretary also added.
EPFO has more than 7.5 crore active members and adds 8-12 lakh new members each month. The organisation added 8.23 lakh new subscribers in January 2025, a 1.87% year-on-year growth from January 2024, according to an official press release.