The Union Labour Ministry is reportedly developing a system to allow eight crore employees’ provident fund (EPF) members to directly withdraw their money using the Unified Payments Interface aka UPI, PTI reported, citing sources.
The project, targeted for rollout by April 2026, aims to facilitate quicker access to funds, streamline the withdrawal process, and enhance service efficiency, it said.
Project in progress: What is the status?
According to the report, the source said the EPFO is working to resolve software glitches. If implemented, eight crore members stand to benefit, as they currently have to go through a time-consuming withdrawal claims process to access their EPF money.
Why can’t the EPFO itself act as a bank?
According to the report, the source noted that the EPFO cannot allow direct withdrawal of money by members as it does not have banking licences.
The auto-settlement process, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, too requires members to file advance claims. The body settles over 5 crore claims, mostly for withdrawing EPF, annually.
The government is working to improve efficiency. The EPFO’s apex decision-making body, Central Board of Trustees (CBT) approved simplifications and liberalised partial withdrawals for users on 13 October 2025. This allowed users to withdraw up to 100% eligible funds (75% total funds), including employee and employer share, to meet immediate financial needs.
Further, in the same month, the CBT also approved four Fund Managers — SBI Funds Management, HDFC AMC, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, and UTI AMC — to manage the EPFO’s debt portfolio for a period of five years.