EPF i-Akaun utilisation up 83.45 pct to 11.09 mln in third quarter of 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The usage of Employees Provident Fund’s ( EPF) flagship electronic service, i-Akaun, surged 83.45 per cent to 11.09 million in the third quarter of 2018 (Q3 2018) versus 6.04 million in the same period a year ago.

The retirement fund said its multiple electronic and selfservice channels continued to record satisfactory growth, at a time when physical visits to the counter and kiosks recorded a reduction.

“This is in line with our strategic thrust to have no less than 80 per cent of our members to use our self service channels.

“In order for us to respond to the evolving needs of our members for seamless online transactions, several more enhancements will be introduced to our online touchpoints, particularly ePengeluaran, which will see end-to- end solutions to members’ withdrawal process in addition to the new and improved features,” it said.

During the quarter under review, the total number of approved applications for all withdrawals increased 6.93 per cent to 616,835 from 576,836 in Q3 2017.

The amount withdrawn, however, decreased slightly to RM11.52 million from RM11.68 million recorded in the corresponding period last year.

At end- September, the number of EPF members totalled 14,091,141 out of which 7,196,502 were active contributors, with 138,376 newly registered members.

The quarter under review also saw an increase of 10.74 per cent in the number of newly registered employers to 17,791 from 16,065 in Q3 2017, bringing the total number of registered employers as at end September 2018 to 504,090.

In tandem with the increase in membership, the EPF recorded an 11.56 per cent increase in contributions received in the third quarter to RM16.91 billion from RM15.16 billion recorded in the same quarter last year, bringing the total accumulated members’ contributions to RM785.59 billion, up 9.72 per cent, from RM715.97 billion achieved in Q3 2017. — Bernama