New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to introduce an instantaneous withdrawal facility for its more than 30 crore subscribers through the BHIM app, as part of a broader digital overhaul of India’s retirement fund system. The move is expected to roll out within the next two to three months.

The new facility, which functions similarly to an ATM withdrawal, has been developed in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Subscribers will be able to submit advance claims under eligible categories such as health, education, and special circumstances directly via the BHIM app. Claims will then be verified and authenticated by EPFO in the backend, with the approved amount credited immediately to the member’s UPI-linked bank account through the State Bank of India (SBI).

Initially, the instant withdrawal service will be exclusive to the BHIM app, although officials indicated that it could be extended to other UPI-based fintech applications in the future.

EPFO officials cautioned that withdrawal limits will likely be imposed initially to prevent misuse, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set its own limits on UPI transactions. “The entire permissible corpus will not be available for instantaneous withdrawal through the BHIM app. Anything that is instant carries inherent risks. The cap is yet to be finalised,” an official said.

At present, advance claims under Rs 5 lakh processed online in auto-mode take at least three working days to settle, with larger claims or those requiring manual processing taking longer.