EPF Withdrawal Through UPI In Trial Phase, Full Rollout Expected Before 2027

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has started testing the long-awaited Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based withdrawal facility with banks. This feature is part of the EPFO 3.0 initiative and is yet to be officially rolled out. 

At the end of June 2026, EPFO had notified new rules for EPF, Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), and Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) under the 3.0 initiative, and had also upgraded its Web portal and UMANG app to make the processes streamlined and automated. 

Now, the UPI accounts of EPFO subscribers will be linked with the Universal Account Number (UAN) to allow subscribers to access their PF balance through UPI instead of first making the claim and waiting for EPFO to transfer the funds to their bank account and then withdrawing it from the bank account. As of now, the UPI-led withdrawal process is in the testing phase, and is likely to be launched by the end of this year.

At present, EPFO members are required to make a claim through the UAN portal for withdrawing their EPF funds, which is time-consuming. Earlier, it was even more time-consuming when the paper-document submission and verification process was followed. At present, claims for up to Rs 5 lakh are settled automatically within three days without requiring any manual intervention. Once a claims process is completed, the funds are transferred to the bank of the subscriber.

However, the process requires the subscriber to make a claim on the Web portal, which is practically far from being called a hassle-free process, considering EPFO’s Web portal services. That’s why UPI-based withdrawal is eagerly awaited. The data show tremendous growth in UPI usage in India every year, and thus, linking it with the EPF is seen as a significant revamp in the EPFO’s services.

Apparently, in January 2026, the Labour Ministry was working on a UPI withdrawal project, according to a PTI report. Under the proposed system, the subscribers would be able to see the EPF balance eligible for transfer to seeded bank accounts. Subscribers would be allowed to use their linked UPI PIN to transfer the amount (only up to 75 per cent of the contribution) directly into their bank account.

According to the new rules, a minimum of 25 per cent of the total contribution is stipulated to be maintained as a minimum balance at all times to ensure compounding benefits and a retirement corpus.

UPI-based EPF withdrawal facility was expected to be launched by April this year but has been delayed. Now, the latest reports indicate a likely rollout before 2027.