EPFO eases claim process; cancelled cheque, bank account verification by employers not needed

In a major relief for Employees, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has eliminated the requirement for uploading a cancelled cheque and employer verification for bank accounts while applying for online withdrawals.

The move is aimed at fast-tracking the claim settlement process for nearly eight crore members and making the process smoother for both employees and employers.

The Labour Ministry, in a statement Thursday, said that the removal of these steps would significantly streamline the claim process and reduce grievances related to claim rejections.

As of now, 4.83 crore of the 7.74 crore active EPF contributors have already seeded their bank accounts with UAN. Around 36,000 requests for bank account seeding are raised daily, with banks taking an average of three days to complete verification. However, employer approval delays were adding an extra 13 days, leading to a backlog of pending approvals.

Key changes in the EPF withdrawal process:

• No need to upload cancelled cheque or passbook: Members will no longer be required to upload an image of a cheque leaf or an attested photocopy of their bank passbook while filing online withdrawal claims.
• Employer approval not required for bank verification: The employer’s approval for verifying bank account details is now completely done away with.
• Simplified bank account changes: EPF members who wish to change their already linked bank account can now do so by entering their new bank account number and IFSC code, which will be authenticated through Aadhaar-based OTP verification.
• Faster claim processing: The removal of these steps will eliminate delays caused by poor-quality or unreadable document uploads, which were leading to claim rejections.

Faster processing to benefit lakhs of members
The changes, initially rolled out as a pilot project on May 28, 2024, for certain KYC-updated members, have already benefited 1.7 crore EPF members. Based on its success, EPFO has now extended the relaxation to all members.

"Since the bank account is already verified along with the EPF members' details at the time of seeding of bank accounts with the UAN, this additional documentation is no longer necessary," the Labour Ministry stated.

This move will immediately benefit over 14.95 lakh EPF members whose employer approvals for bank verification were pending, allowing them to access their funds faster.

With these changes in place, EPFO aims to ensure 'ease of living' for EPF members and 'ease of doing business' for employers, making the withdrawal process more seamless and efficient.