
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched WhatsApp services for members, the retirement fund savings body announced in a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
“EPFO now on WhatsApp too! Join EPFO's official WhatsApp Channel to get important updates and useful information,” it wrote on X. The channel's description states that it will provide updates on “official news, scheme alerts, and important announcements”.
Notably, at the time of writing, the EPFO's official WhatsApp channel already had 75,000 members. Members can join by clicking here — https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6kmH48Pgs8ftd6Kw3Y
The EPF is a government-backed, secure, long-term investment tool and retirement savings option for salaried individuals. The Ministry of Finance ratified 8.25% interest rate for EPF and voluntary PF (VPF) in FY26 for the third consecutive term.
The initiative is expected to significantly reduce the need for physical visits to EPFO offices and lessen dependence on customer care call centres.
Notably, this comes after Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya had, in May, told reporters the plan to launch WhatsApp-based chatbot services to handle user queries and basic account-related requests, with the aim of enhancing outreach and streamlining member services, ANI reported.
Mandaviya added that the organisation has undertaken several initiatives to reduce litigation and ensure the timely resolution of pending cases across various legal forums, and the WhatsApp chatbot rollout is one such measure.
According to the minister, a major reason for rollout of WhatsApp channel for communications is that most EPFO members have already installed and use the messaging app. He added that the platform allows for use of local / vernacular language, which would enable greater comfort for members to engage with the EPFO in their language.
Further, the ministry in a release added that another important area of focus will be for members covered under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) who face issues such as incomplete Aadhaar authentication or failure to enable Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Jocelyn Fernandes is a journalist and editor with nearly 13 years of experience covering the business, corporate, economy and markets beats in news.<br> As chief content producer for around three years at Livemint (Hindustan Times), Jocelyn publishes breaking stories, explainers, features and live blogs on a range of business and economy topics, including the Budget, corporate developments, stock markets, income tax, money and personal finance, cryptocurrency, government policy, impact of US tariffs, international developments and more.<br> Jocelyn's writing philosophy is focused on delivering news in an accurate and accessible format for readers. She thus focuses her news coverage on explainers and FAQs in order to breakdown business, corporate, economic, and policy topics that are of importance to everyday readers.<br> She holds a Bachelors in Mass Media (BMM) and Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Journalism and Communication and has previously written for online business and markets news site Moneycontrol (Network18), Business-to-business (B2B) trade publications — the industry magazines Power Today and Solar Today (ASAPP Media), and the national news agency United News of India (UNI).<br> Outside of work, Jocelyn keeps up-to-date with local and international news, enjoys reading fiction books, novels and short stories, and enjoys movies, travelling and art. <br> She can be found on X and LinkedIn, and reached by email: <a href="jocelyn.fernandes@htdigital.in">jocelyn.fernandes@htdigital.in</a> <br> X/ Twitter handle: <a href="https://x.com/scribeJocelyn">@scribeJocelyn</a> <br> LinkedIn: <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/jocelyn-fernandes-journalist">LinkedIn</a>
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