Category: Business News
Can you withdraw your provident fund through UPI or at an ATM yet? As of 22 October 2026, the answer is no. EPFO has not announced a go-live date for either facility, and none of the EPFO or Press Information Bureau releases says the facility is open to members.
That has not stopped a flood of posts claiming the feature is already live, with invented limits attached. Here is what EPFO and the labour ministry have actually said, what works today, and what to ignore.
What is NOT live
PF withdrawal by UPI is in development and testing, not open to members. The labour minister said in May 2026 that testing was complete. Outlook Money reported on 8 October 2026 that EPFO had started testing UPI-based withdrawals with banks and that a launch was expected by the end of 2026 — but no EPFO statement confirms that timeline, so it should be treated as a press report, not an official date.
Withdrawal at an ATM with a PF card has no official scheme published. EPFO’s own committee papers record only that a proposal to introduce ATM card facilities would be brought to the committee. There is no EPFO-issued PF card.
Claims you should not trust: a ₹15,000-per-transaction cap, a limit of four withdrawals a year, and “live since April 2026” — none of these has any official source. The March 2025 proposal for a BHIM-UPI claim facility did envisage a cap of ₹1 lakh per transaction for Form 19 (final settlement), Form 31 (advance) and Form 10C (pension withdrawal benefit) — but that was a proposal, and it may not be what is finally launched.
What IS live today
Auto-settlement of advance claims up to ₹5 lakh. Since June 2025, advance claims up to ₹5 lakh that pass EPFO’s checks are settled automatically, usually within three days. The limit was raised from ₹1 lakh on 24 June 2025, and covers illness, education, marriage and housing.
Partial withdrawal up to 75% of the eligible balance. Under the EPF Scheme, 2026, which came into force on 29 June 2026, the old 13 withdrawal reasons were merged into a simple set of rules. After 12 months of membership, you can withdraw up to your eligible balance — your total balance minus a minimum balance of 25%, which must stay in the account to keep earning interest.
EPF interest rate 8.25% for FY 2025-26. The government has also raised the PF wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026 — the first increase since 2014.
How to withdraw PF today
The working route is the online claim on the EPFO Member Portal (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in) or the UMANG app. Your Aadhaar, PAN and bank account must be linked and approved, and your UAN must be activated. The money is then transferred to your bank account — the UPI and ATM shortcuts are still to come.
Sources: myutils.me status check, 22 October 2026; Outlook Money, 8 October 2026; PIB, 24 June 2025 and 13 October 2025; DesiUtils, updated 14 September 2026; Wellthrise, October 2026.
