Indian roads and especially highways have become good in the last few years. The infrastructure of the roads has been improved to a great extent which provides uninterrupted traffic flows without any jams on the roads. If you are a frequent traveler, you might not face any problems on these roads and can have a smooth journey, but still, there were some things which were not under our control and usually, you would hate during your journeys.
One of such problem travelers face is long queues at toll plazas across the highway, which would waste a lot of time waiting for your turn. But now the government has introduced FASTag for vehicles which have been made mandatory for four-wheelers from December 2019. More than 600+ toll plazas across the country are equipped with FASTag. Let us get to know about what is FASTag, the benefits of FASTag, how to get FASTag for your vehicles, and when is your FASTag blacklisted.
What is FASTag?
The government of India with the help of the National Payments Corporation of India has developed the NETC program which refers to the National Electronic Toll Collection. This programs allows the collection of toll tax without any human intervention. This program is also known as FASTag which helps to reduce the rush at toll plazas across the. The FASTag is a device that uses RFID technology that is Radio Frequency Identification which will deduct the toll charges automatically when the vehicle passes through FASTag lane of the toll plaza. The FASTag sticker is applied on the front windscreen of the four wheelers and when they will pass through the toll, money will be auto debited from the FASTag account linked with the vehicle.
Things to know about FASTag
Though FASTag is an easy and convenient method to pay your toll tax without any human intervention, still there are some points about the technology that are necessary to know before you move your vehicle on highways:
- FASTag can be used at any toll plaza across the country irrespective of the fact that whosoever is the acquirer of the toll plaza.
- FASTag is affixed on the front windscreen of the four-wheeler.
- If you own more than one four-wheeler, you will have to have a separate FASTag for both vehicles. You cannot use the same FASTag for multiple vehicles.
- Once you have purchased a FASTag for a vehicle, it will be valid for 5 years. You can recharge the FASTag as per the requirement after the initial buying of the FASTag.
- FASTag can be recharged online through netbanking, UPI, debit cards, credit cards and paytm. Minimum amount to recharge FASTag is Rs100 and maximum amount is Rs 1,00,000.
- You should always buy FASTag from trusted banking partners only.
- You should never buy a FASTag from the company which asks to link your bank account. You should always used prepaid service for the FASTag.
What are the benefits of using FASTag?
The FASTag have many advantages for the for wheeler owners. The benefits of FASTag are listed below:
Cashless Payments
One of the best advantages by making FASTag compulsory is the tension of having an exact change at toll plazas. The transaction will be cashless and money will be automatically debited from your FASTag wallets.
Mobile Alerts through SMS
Whenever you will pass through any toll plaza, you will receive sms alerts on your registered mobile numbers when money will be deducted from FASTag. You will also receive alerts for low balance in your FASTag wallet.
Online Recharge
This is one of the best advantages of having FASTag. You can recharge it anytime using debit cards, net banking and UPI.
Faster Moving on Highway
Thus it also reduces the travelling time from one place to another as it will reduce human intervention saving your precious time.
Cashback Offers
For promoting FASTag government is providing very good cashback offers for the users. Currently they are providing 2.5% cashback for every transaction through FASTag wallet.
How to buy FASTags?
FASTags can be bought from various sources . Many nationalized and private banks are providing the facility to create a FASTag account. Moreover, some of the payment wallets such as paytm are also issuing the FASTag for the four wheelers. You can also buy FASTag at toll plazas, where they have a Point of sale (POS) which will help in getting FASTag.
Here is the list of banks which are providing FASTag accounts:
List of Banks Providing FASTags Account
| Bank | Customer Care Helpline | Tag issuance charge |
|---|---|---|
| Airtel Payments Bank | 400 | Rs. 100 |
| EQUITAS SMALL FINANCE BANK | 1800 103 1222 | Rs. 100 |
| IDFC FIRST Bank | 1800-266-9970 | ₹200 including service tax |
| PAYTM Payments Bank | 1800-102-6480 | Rs. 100 |
| State Bank of India | 1800-11-0018 | Rs. 100 |
| Axis Bank Ltd | 1800-419-8585 | Rs. 200 + service tax |
| Federal Bank | 1800-266-9520 | Rs. 100 |
| Indusind Bank | 1860 -500- 5004 | Rs.200 |
| Punjab and Maharashtra Co-op Bank | 1800-223-993 | Rs. 200 |
| Syndicate Bank | 1800-425-0585 | Rs. 200 |
| Bank of Baroda | 1800-103-4568 | Rs. 84.74 + GST |
| FINO Payments Bank | 1860-266-3466 | Rs.100 + GST |
| Karur Vysya Bank | 1800-102-1916 | Rs.100 |
| Punjab National Bank | 080-67295310 | Rs.100 |
| Union Bank of India | 1800- 22- 22 44 | Rs.100 |
| Canara Bank | 1800-103-3568 | Rs. 200 |
| HDFC Bank | 1800-120-1243 | Rs. 200 |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 1800-300-69090 | Rs. 100 |
| Saraswat Co-operative Bank | 1800-266-9545 | Rs.100 |
| Yes Bank Ltd | 1800 -1200 | Rs.100 |
| City Union Bank Ltd | 1800-258-7200 | Rs. 200 |
| ICICI Bank | 1800-2100-104 | Rs. 99.12 |
| Nagapur Nagarik Sahakari Bank | 1800 -266- 7183 | Rs 100 |
| South Indian Bank | 1800-425-1809 | Rs 100 |
A person can also buy the FASTag from the automobile company from where he is going to buy his four wheeler and they will install the FASTag on their new vehicles.
Documents Required for the Application of FASTag
Whenever you are going to buy a FASTag account, you will require some documents along with their photostat copy. Here is the list of the documents you will need when buying a FASTag for your vehicle:
- RC of the vehicle for which you are going to have FASTag.
- The user will also require to submit the passport size photograph of vehicle owner.
- You will need a document for KYC which is any one of these – driving license, adhar card, Pan Card, Voter Id and Passport.
How FASTag Works?
Here are the steps where we will learn how does FASTag transaction works when it is initiated at toll plaza through RFID reader:
- A vehicle will pass through FASTag lane where RFID device will capture FASTag details which includes ID of the tag, Class of the vehicle and TID which is sent to the bank for processing.
- The bank will further initiate a request to NETC Mapper which will validate the tag details.
- After the Tag ID is validated by NETC, the mapper will send details which are vehicle class, tag status and VRN. IF the mapper is unable to locate Tag, it will return a response that particular TAG ID is not registered.
- Thus the bank will calculate the toll fare and a debit request is initiated towards NETC.
- After that The NETC will forward the request to bank which has issued FASTag to debit from FASTag account of user.
- Now the money will be deducted by the host and the user will receive an SMS alert. The host will also send the message to NETC.
This is how FASTag will deduct the money from your account and you can travel hassle free.
FASTag Blacklisted
If you pass through any toll plaza and your FASTag wallet is out of money, your FASTag wallet is usually blacklisted for 48 hours, if you use the FASTag lane for crossing the toll gate. Your FASTag account will only be reactivated with the intervention of NHAI helpdesk in case you are travelling. You can also call on NHAI customer helpline number which is 1033 for reactivating card.
Usually when a person buys a FASTag Rs 200 is added as a security deposit which can be used during emergencies. If in case you have exhausted your main FASTag wallet account, the amount can be deducted from the security deposit. And again when you will recharge your wallet, firstly money will get added as a security deposit which you have used and rest of the amount will get deposited in your main FASTag wallet.
How to Use FASTag?
Now we are aware of FASTag, we will see how the FASTag works when a vehicles enters toll plaza:
- First of all when your vehicle enters FASTag lane, RFID reader on the lane will auto detect your FASTag and deduct the amount from your FASTag wallet.
- You will get a confirmation receipt on your email and also an alert message on your phone linked with tag.
- Once the money is deducted from your tag you will get a green signal and you can successfully pass through the plaza without any hassle.
FASTag Common Problems
Everything has its pros and cons. Pros are already explained and now we will see what are the difficulties one can face while using FASTag.
Sometimes when you will pass your vehicle through FASTag lane, the RFID reader might not detect the FASTag of your vehicle. You might need to move your vehicle little backward and forward and you must also ensure that FASTag is correctly placed on your vehicle so that it’s easily detectable.
If your FASTag is still not detected than a man on toll plaza will come with handheld RFID reader to detect your tag. There are some disadvantages of these hand-held devices:
- They are faulty at some times.
- They need to be charged after 5-6 hours.
Some companies are deducting the FASTag charges if you are not using in the name of FASTag event. So don’t buy FASTag from such companies. As FASTag is a prepaid wallet you don’t need to link your bank account with FASTag.
How to Buy Fastag with Paytm?
Paytm has revolutionized the digital payment world where you can do any kind of transaction like recharge your phone, book bus and train tickets, pay utility bills and can also shop on the platform. So how can it stay behind when government made FASTag compulsory for the four wheelers to be used at Toll Plazas across the country. Paytm FASTag is a reusable tag which employs RFID technology to deduct payments from your FASTag wallet linked to paytm.
There is a benefit of using a paytm FASTag as you will need to simply add money to your paytm wallet. Your money for FASTag will be automatically reserved from that paytm wallet amount. You will receive receipt of each and every transaction of your PAYTM FASTag account and also receive Emails & SMS alerts for all he toll plazas related transactions. Paytm has already issued more than 6 lakhs FASTag till now in the country.
How To Apply For Paytm FASTag?
You can apply for paytm FASTag by following the below mentioned steps:
- Visit the official website of the Paytm.
- On the homepage there is a menu named “Buy FASTag“, click on that and you will see the following screen:
- Enter the Vehicle Registration Number on the page.
- After that you need to upload Registration Certificate of your vehicle. You need to take back and Front images of the RC of your vehicle.
- After that click on “Proceed to Pay” and sign in to your paytm account.
- You have successfully bought a Paytm FASTag.
Paytm Fastag Price
You can buy a Paytm FASTag for a class 4 vehicles that is car, jeep and Van from Paytm. Here is the breakdown of Paytm FASTag price:
- Cost Of the Tag: Rs 100
- Security Deposit which is Refundable: Rs 250
- Threshold Amount for the Tag: Rs 150
PAYTM FASTag Activation
Once you have bought your tag from Paytm, you will have to upload a copy of Registration Certificate by visiting “My Orders” section of the paytm after the FASTag is delivery at your address. Your FASTag will be activated after that. Your FASTag is directly mapped to the mobile number which was used during ordering of the tag.
Paytm Fastag Delivery Time
It takes around 5-6 days to delivery FASTag at your given address during your order. You can track your Paytm FASTag by going to “My Orders” section of Paytm. Tracking of the order gets activated after 24 hours of the tag being shipped by Paytm.
Paytm FASTag Offer
Whenever you buy a FASTag with paytm you will get a movie voucher worth Rs 150. So you can get a discount on your movie tickets next time when you buy from Paytm, using the code you will receive while buying the . Moreover you are entitled to 2.5% cashback whenever you use PAYTM FASTag at any Toll in the country.
Paytm FASTag Blacklisted
If you do not have enough balance in your paytm wallet and you cross a toll plaza with it, your tag can get blacklisted due to low balance. Whenever you are going to pass by any toll across the national highway you should be sure that you have an active tag which can be checked when you login paytm and go under “Manage Tags” section in your FASTag wallet. If your paytm fastag is blacklisted you can write your concern at this email address: FASTag@paytm.com.
If your tag is not in working condition, you should check the “Manage Tags” section in your paytm. If your tag is suspended, you can activate this by toggle button. If your tag is shown in issued state, you need to share RC scans with paytm at the email address mentioned above to get it activated.
Paytm FASTag Customer Care
If you have any problem regarding your Paytm FASTag account you can write to FASTag@paytm.com or you can call Paytm FASTag helpline which is mentioned below:
Paytm FASTag Customer Care Number: 1800-102-6480
- How to change Fastag’s mobile number?No, we cannot change the Fastag mobile number. As the e-mail id and mobile number are registered at the time when the customer is making their Fastag for the first time. However, if the customer wants to change the vehicle registration number (VRN)then they can share their vehicle RC scans.
- How to change a Fastag account from one bank to another It is an easy process to change a FASTag account from one bank to another, you just need to follow the below mentioned steps: 1. If the customer’s Fastag is linked with the Paytm wallet, which is in turn connected with another bank, then he/she can change the bank account and recharge the wallet from the new bank account. 2. However, in case if the customer’s Fastag is linked with the Paytm bank account, then by changing the bank, he/she also needs to cancel the Paytm linked Fastag as well.
- What to do with Fastag when selling a car?If you have sold/transfer your car, you are requested to inform your issuing source or bank and close the account as soon as possible.