EPFO launches UPI trial; the entire PF withdrawal system is set to change, with funds reaching accounts in minutes..

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), in collaboration with banks, has initiated a trial for withdrawing Provident Fund (PF) amounts via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). With UPI-based withdrawals, subscribers will no longer have to wait weeks for their claims to be processed; the funds will be credited directly to their bank accounts within minutes of claim settlement. This significant change will benefit the country's 30 crore EPFO ​​subscribers. However, full withdrawal of the PF fund will not be possible via UPI; only 75 percent of the total PF amount can be withdrawn through this method.

Currently, employees must visit the UAN portal and file an online claim to withdraw money from their PF accounts. This is followed by document scrutiny and verification by the field office, after which bank processing takes several days. EPFO ​​now intends to link the UAN portal with members' UPI handles. This will eliminate the hassle of paperwork and manual approvals, making the claim process fully automated.

When will UPI-based PF withdrawal begin?

EPFO manages a total corpus of approximately ₹26 lakh crore and has around 7.5 crore active contributors. According to government sources, the system integration and security testing work with banks is in the final stages. If everything goes according to plan, the facility for PF withdrawals via UPI will be launched by the end of this year.

A new app is also in the works.

According to a Moneycontrol report, EPFO ​​is also developing a new mobile app linked to subscribers' bank accounts to facilitate PF withdrawals via UPI. This app will be integrated with major UPI platforms, including the National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) BHIM app. This will enable PF account holders to transfer their PF claim funds to their bank accounts at their convenience by entering their UPI PIN

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