EPFO set to introduce self-attestation facility for completing KYC

In a major relief for its 80 million active members, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to introduce a self-attestation facility starting in June that will do away with the need for approval from employers to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) process.

KYC is a one-time process that helps in verifying the identity of subscribers by linking their universal account number (UAN) with KYC details. Currently, an employer must approve the details of its employees for the KYC process to be completed.

Providing this facility will help the members complete the process with much ease, as a lot of time is currently wasted in getting approval from employers. Many times, if a firm has closed, the member cannot get the approval. The new facility will do away with all such paperwork and will reduce the rejection of claims as well, the official said.

Apart from this customer-friendly feature to be launched under EPFO 3.0, the social security organisation is also transforming its information technology (IT) infrastructure to manage the added burden of new subscribers that will join the organisation following the implementation of three employment-linked incentive (ELI) schemes.

One of the features of EPFO 3.0 will be the thrust on scalability. The improved IT infrastructure will help the organisation to offer improved services to its members. As and when new members join the social security net, and we expect the active members to reach 100 million, it will be of great help, he said.

In addition to this, under EPFO 3.0, the retirement fund body is also considering introducing a facility in partnership with various banks that will allow users to withdraw their money, up to a certain extent, without the need to file claims.

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya last month told Parliament that EPFO was working to build a robust platform that will enable users to draw their money without any hassles.

We are working to create a redressal system akin to the banking system. By March, we will be able to launch EPFO 3.0 through which we will be able to solve almost all the user queries, he added.

www.business-standard.com, dt. 10-01-2025