EPFO Simplifies Claim Process with New Bank Verification Rules

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced new measures to simplify and speed up the online withdrawal process for its members. Two major requirements have been removed to reduce delays and claim rejections.

Cancelled Cheques No Longer Required

EPF members are no longer required to upload a cancelled cheque or passbook copy when submitting withdrawal claims online. This step was earlier mandatory to verify bank account details, but often led to claim rejections due to poor-quality uploads.

Employer Approval 

The second major change is the removal of employer approval for bank account verification. Until now, claim processing required employers to approve and verify the member’s bank account, which extended the settlement period. This step is no longer needed.

Aadhaar Verification

Members can now enter new bank account details and complete verification through Aadhaar-based OTP authentication. This replaces the earlier process that involved coordination with employers and waiting periods from banks.

Previously, bank account verification took up to three working days. Employer approval added another 13 days in some cases. With direct Aadhaar-based verification, processing time is expected to reduce significantly.

Facility Rolled Out Nationwide

EPFO had tested this process in May 2024 for KYC-verified users. During the pilot, over 1.7 crore members used the facility. It has now been made available to all EPFO users across the country.

As of now, 4.83 crore of the 7.74 crore EPF contributors have bank accounts already linked with their Universal Account Number (UAN). This verification process happens during UAN-bank seeding.

The changes are to immediately help 14.95 lakh members who were unable to proceed with withdrawals due to pending employer approvals.

Conclusion

The new process is aimed at reducing documentation, minimising delays, and removing dependency on employers for faster online EPF claim settlements.

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