A major digital facility is soon to be launched for millions of members registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Now, withdrawing money from the Provident Fund (PF) will be easier, faster, and without paperwork. EPFO is preparing to launch a facility to withdraw advance PF amount directly through the BHIM UPI app. This facility is likely to be implemented in the next 2 to 3 months and may be available before the ATM facility.
This new digital service will benefit more than 30 crore EPFO members in the country. Currently, to withdraw money from PF, one has to apply for an online claim, verify documents, and wait for several days. However, due to the new system, employees will be able to receive an advance amount within minutes if needed. Hence, this initiative by EPFO is considered a major digital transformation.
EPFO has partnered with NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) for this feature. EPFO members can directly claim advance PF amounts for health, education, marriage, or other special reasons through the BHIM UPI app. After claiming, EPFO will immediately verify the account. If all information is found correct, the claim will be approved and the amount will be directly deposited into the relevant UPI account through SBI. Initially, this feature will be available only on the BHIM app. However, it is expected that in the next phase, this feature will also be launched on other UPI-based fintech apps like Google Pay, PhonePe.
This facility is not for withdrawing the full PF amount, but is limited to advance amounts. According to RBI and UPI transaction rules, money can be withdrawn only within a certain limit. This will help prevent misuse, according to officials. Allowing immediate withdrawal of the entire PF amount can be dangerous, so the facility will be expanded gradually.
In the future, a debit card linked to the PF account will also be launched for EPFO members. With the help of this card, the amount from the PF account can be withdrawn directly from any ATM. Notably, there will be no need for a bank account for this. Overall, this facility to withdraw PF amount via BHIM UPI is expected to be a big relief for EPFO members and is considered an important step towards Digital India.