India's social security fund to stop claims made via Paytm Payments Bank

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's state-run social security fund will halt claims made via Paytm Payments Bank accounts from Feb. 23, as the country's central bank imposed restrictions on the payments bank due to persistent irregularities, a government order said.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has asked its officers to refrain from accepting claims linked with accounts in Paytm Payments Bank, an associate of One 97 Communications, according to the order, which was reviewed by Reuters.

The order was issued by the EPFO on Thursday, which comes under India's Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The move comes after the Reserve Bank of India, last week, directed Paytm Payments Bank to stop accepting new deposits in its accounts or digital wallets from March, citing supervisory concerns and non-compliance with rules.

The EPFO -- which has a corpus of over 18 trillion rupees ($216.89 billion) covering nearly 300 million workers -- had allowed Paytm Payments Bank to settle claims in November 2023.

The state-run social security fund also overseas workers' pension funds. ($1 = 82.9900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Manoj Kumar in New Delhi; Editing by Savio D'Souza)