PF Withdrawals Via ATMs To Be Enabled From April, Say Labour Ministry Sources

Provident fund users can now use automated teller machines to withdraw their PF dues by April 2026, as per information conveyed by Labour Ministry sources to NDTV Profit on Monday.

The Centre is working on trials with banks to operationalise employees' provident fund withdrawals through the use of ATMs, as per the sources. The Employees' Provident Fund will also be open to withdrawals via the use of unified payments interface (UPI), apart from ATMs.

This move is being implemented to further streamline the process of EPF withdrawal which typically involves filing multiple forms, which may act as a deterrent due to the efforts needed to fulfill these requirements.

EPF is the primary government-backed retirement benefit programme for salaried employees in the formal sector. Under the current EPF scheme, an employee contributes 12% of the basic salary and dearness allowance every month. The employer contributes an equal amount. The government periodically reviews the interest rate for the PF scheme. The interest rate has been fixed at 8.25% for fiscal year 2025-26.

The Labour Ministry will also be putting its four new Labour Codes into effect on April 1, sources told NDTV Profit, ahead of the nationwide general strike being organised by the heads of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Agricultural Labour Union and farmers' unions. The unions alleged that the new codes favoured corporate interests over their own, as per reports.

The government stated that workers have shown acceptance of the codes after two months of implementation. Around 16 trade unions expressed support for the codes while 13 were against their implementation.

ALSO READ: EPF Withdrawals To Go Digital: 75% Access Via ATMs, UPI By March 2026, Says Labour Minister

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