No cancelled cheque, employer verification needed for online PF withdrawal

Measure will reduce claim-related grievances and delays for more than 77 million subscribers, says EPFO

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will not ask subscribers to upload a cancelled cheque or get employer verification for bank accounts when they apply for online withdrawals.

 

The step is expected to benefit more than 77 million EPF members and reduce claim-related grievances and delays. “Two major reforms have been introduced to make the claim settlement process simpler, faster, and hassle-free for crores of EPF members & employers,” said Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on X on Thursday.

 

Key reforms

 

No more uploading of cheque leaf or attested bank passbook

 

EPFO has removed the mandatory requirement of uploading an image of a cheque or attested bank passbook while filing online claims. Initially introduced on a pilot basis on May 28, 2024, for select KYC-updated users, the reform has already benefited 17 million members.  ALSO READ | EPFO eases withdrawal process, no need for bank account verification

 

Following the pilot’s success, the EPFO has now extended this benefit to all EPF members. Since the name of the account holder is already verified during the bank account seeding with the Universal Account Number (UAN), additional documentation is no longer needed. This will eliminate common claim rejections caused by poor image quality and reduce grievances considerably.

 

Employer approval removed for bank account seeding with UAN

 

EPFO has eliminated the requirement of employer approval after bank verification for seeding bank accounts with UANs.

 

Previously, members had to wait for their employers to approve the seeding requests after bank verification, a process that added an average of 13 days to the timeline. In contrast, bank verification itself takes only about three days. With around 36,000 such requests raised daily, the delay was resulting in unnecessary workload and a bottleneck in the system.

 

As of now, out of the 77.4 million active monthly contributors, 48.3 million members have already seeded their bank accounts, while 149,500 requests were still pending employer approvals. These pending members will now immediately benefit from this reform.

 

The new rule also makes it easier for members who wish to update or change their seeded bank account information. They can now do so by simply entering the new account number and IFSC code, verified through Aadhaar OTP, without waiting for employer confirmation.