The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has scrapped two key requirements for online withdrawals. Members no longer need to upload a cancelled cheque or get employer approval for bank account verification.

The move speeds up claim settlements for nearly 8 crore EPF members.

The Labour Ministry said these changes will cut delays and reduce rejections due to poor-quality document uploads.

What’s changed:

• No more cancelled cheques or passbooks: Members can skip uploading these while filing withdrawal claims.
• Employer approval not required: Bank account verification now happens without employer intervention.
• Easy bank account changes: Members can enter new account details and verify them using Aadhaar OTP.

Earlier, banks took three days to verify accounts. Employer approvals added another 13 days, causing delays.

Now, verification happens directly, cutting down wait time.

EPFO had first tested this in May 2024 for KYC-verified users. Over 1.7 crore members benefited. The facility is now live for all users.

Already, 4.83 crore of the 7.74 crore EPF contributors have bank accounts linked with their UAN.

These changes will immediately help 14.95 lakh members stuck due to pending employer approvals.

“This documentation is no longer necessary as the account is already verified during UAN-bank account seeding,” said the Labour Ministry.

The new process aims to boost ease of access for employees and reduce burden on employers.