With the digital revolution in the country, mobile phones are now available in every hand. In such a situation, more and more work is now being done online. Similarly, the work of the Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) can now be done mostly through online sitting at home. In such a situation, the pensioners have to check the passbook or update the life certificate sitting online, all these facilities are being provided by the EPFO to its customers. “To ensure the safe and secure delivery of its services at the doorsteps on its 66 lakh pensioners, EPFO brought the facility of ‘View Pensioner Passbook’ as well as updation of Jeevan Pramaan Patra on UMANG app,” the EPFO said adding that both the services receive enthusiastic responses from existing pensioners.
As per the Ministry of Labour & Employment, presently a provident fund (PF) member can access 16 different services of EPFO on their mobile phone using UMANG App. For availing these services an active UAN (Universal Account Number) and a mobile number registered with the EPFO are required. EPFO’s member-centric services on UMANG App got a big thumbs-up from its subscribers during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
During the COVID-19 pandemic period from April to July 2020, 18.52 lakh API hits were received on View Pensioner Passbook service while 29,773 API hits were recorded on updating Jeevan Pramaan Patra service. To avail of these services, you need an active UAN (Universal Account Number) and a mobile number registered with the EPFO.
On the UMANG app, a member can raise the claim, track a claim, and know the status of the claim raised. During the COVID-19 pandemic period from April to July 2020, a total of 11.27 lakhs claims were filed online through UMANG App.
This was a whopping 180% increase compared to the pre-COVID 19 periods from December 2019 to March 2020, where only 3.97 lakhs claims were submitted through the app. UMANG has enabled members to overcome the mobility restriction induced by COVID-19 pandemic in accessing EPFO’s services and thereby reduced the need to physically visit the offices of EPFO.
The most popular service availed by members through UMANG App is View Member Passbook. During the period from August 2019 to July 2020, this service attracted 27.55 crore viewership’s by EPF members through EPFO Member Portal whereas the same facility of view Member Passbook through UMANG App attracted 244.77 crore API hits. The ease of access with a click of a button on their mobile app has seen more members preferring UMANG app over the portal.
Among the other key services, UAN Activation registered 21,27,942 API hits while the eKYC services recorded 13,21,07,910 API hits on UMANG App during the period from April to July 2020.
With Smartphone penetration rising in India, EPFO has been able to extend access of its services to its members through mobile governance, thereby bridging the digital divide. This has enabled EPFO to overcome the challenge posed by COVID-19 restriction in providing social security services to its stakeholders, especially when they needed it the most. In the process, EPFO has become the largest organization on UMANG accounting for more than 90% of the footfall on the app.
