Major Financial Rules Change June 1: EPFO 3.0 and UPI Updates

A slate of financial rules comes into force June 1, 2025, altering how retirement savings are accessed and how digital payments display beneficiary details. The changes cover the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s next platform upgrade, new guidelines for Unified Payments Interface transactions, an automated fund withdrawal option and revised cheque‐verification thresholds.

The National Payments Corporation of India has directed all UPI providers to display the ultimate beneficiary’s banking name—retrieved via Validate Address API—on every person-to-person and person-to-merchant transaction screen. Names drawn from QR codes or user‐assigned labels must not appear. Features allowing payers to edit beneficiary names must be disabled. Participants must complete these updates by June 30, with non-compliance treated as a violation of NPCI rules.

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that “EPFO 3.0” will debut June 1, upgrading the EPFO member portal to mirror basic bank functions. Once live, subscribers will use their Universal Account Number to initiate PF transfers, view balances and manage claims without visiting an office. Mandaviya said the new platform will streamline routine tasks and reduce processing times.

Labour and Employment Secretary Sumita Dawra confirmed that NPCI’s proposal to allow provident fund withdrawals through UPI and ATM channels has been approved. A pilot is expected to launch by late June for both Employees’ Provident Fund and other government-run savings schemes. Subscribers will link their UAN to UPI IDs or ATM cards to initiate immediate PF withdrawals.

Bank of Baroda will phase in a reduction of its Positive Pay Confirmation limit for high-value cheques. From May 1, cheques of Rs 4 lakh and above require Positive Pay; the threshold falls to Rs 3 lakh on August 1 and to Rs 2 lakh on November 1. The move aims to curb fraud on large-value transactions.