New Delhi:- Good news for members of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. According to sources, from April 1, 2026, EPFO ??members will be able to withdraw their PF funds through the UPI payment gateway, and the amount will be directly credited to their bank accounts.
News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that the Labour Ministry is working on a project in which a certain portion of the EPF will be frozen, and a larger portion will be available for withdrawal from the member's bank account using UPI. They said that members will be able to see the eligible EPF balance available for transfer to the bank account linked to EPFO. Members will be able to use their UPI PIN for transactions to ensure safe transfer of funds to their bank accounts.
Once the PF funds are transferred to their bank accounts, members can use the funds as they wish, such as making online payments or withdrawing money from bank ATMs using their debit cards, sources said. The EPFO ??is working to iron out software bugs to implement this system, which will benefit around 80 million members, sources said.
Currently, EPFO ??members have to apply for a withdrawal claim to withdraw their EPF funds. This process can sometimes take two to three weeks before the funds are credited to the member's bank account. However, under the auto-settlement mode, withdrawal claim applications are processed within three days. The limit has now been increased from ?1 lakh to ?5 lakh. The EPFO ??was the first to start online auto-settlement of advance claims to provide immediate support to members during the COVID-19 pandemic. This required members to file claims.
The launch of UPI payment gateway will eliminate the need for members to file claims. This is expected to save time and reduce the burden on EPFO. Under the current system, EPFO ??settles over 50 million PF claims annually.
Sources said that EPFO ??cannot allow its members to withdraw funds directly from their EPF accounts as the organisation does not have a banking license. However, the government wants to improve EPFO's services on par with banks. In October 2025, EPFO's Central Board of Trustees approved easing the provision of EPF partial withdrawal.