NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JUNE 3
Retirement fund body EPFO has updated KYC details of its 52.62 lakh subscribers during the April-May period, according to a Labour Ministry statement. This updation includes Aadhaar seeding for 39.97 lakh subscribers, mobile seeding (UAN activation) for 9.87 lakh subscribers, and bank account seeding for 11.11 lakh subscribers.
The KYC (know your customer) is a one-time process which helps in identity verification of subscribers through linking of Universal Account Number (UAN) with KYC details.
To extend the availability and reach of online services, which have become crucial in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) updated KYC data for its 52.62 lakh subscribers in the month of April and May 2020, the statement said.
Further, to enable KYC seeding on such a large scale, the EPFO has also undertaken the massive exercise of rectifying the details of the subscribers even during the lockdown.
This resulted in corrections of 4.81 lakh names, 2.01 lakh dates of birth, and 3.70 lakh Aadhaar numbers in the last two months.
In order to balance the need to ensure the safety of its staff by maintaining social distancing in the office during the lockdown on one hand and to facilitate KYC updation for the subscribers, on the other hand, the EPFO adopted twin strategy of work-from-home and simplification of KYC updation process.
Staff working from home were assigned the task of updating the KYC and rectifying the details, reducing the pendency to an almost day to day basis.
Major simplification in processes, such as removing the dependency on employers for Aadhaar seeding and accepting Aadhaar as proof of date of birth for differences up to three years, has expedited the entire process.
KYC updation enables a member to avail of online services through the member portal. The member can file online for final withdrawal and advances including the recently introduced COVID-19 advances under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
It facilitates the hassle-free online transfer of PF account on switching jobs. Any KYC compliant member can avail of all the online services either through the desktop or through Umang App.
Despite the constraints imposed due to COVID restrictions, the EPFO is committed to bringing its services to the doorstep of its members by adopting the online mode.
It has also helped the EPFO in improving its service delivery, both quantitatively and qualitatively, by cutting downtime for claim settlement, EPF advances, PF transfer and pension processing.
