New Delhi: EPFO ??subscribers will be able to withdraw money from their Employees' Provident Fund through the UPI payment gateway from April this year and transfer it directly to their bank accounts. Top sources said that the Labour Ministry is working on a project where a certain proportion of EPF will be frozen, and a larger portion will be available for withdrawal through their bank accounts using the Unified Payment Interface.
They said that subscribers will be able to see the eligible EPF balance available for transfer to their respective bank accounts. They will be allowed to use their linked UPI PIN to complete the transaction to ensure safe transfer of money to their bank accounts.
Once the money is transferred to the bank accounts, members can use the money as they wish, such as making payments electronically or withdrawing it through bank ATMs using debit cards. The source said that the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation is trying to address software loopholes to implement the system smoothly. This facility will benefit around eight crore members.
Currently, EPFO ??members have to apply for withdrawal of money from their EPFO, which takes a lot of time. Under the auto-settlement mode, withdrawal claims are settled electronically within three days of filing the application form without any manual intervention.
The limit of this auto-settlement mode has already been increased from the existing Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
This will facilitate a large number of EPFO ??members to access their EPF money within three days for the purposes of illness, education, marriage and housing.