Indian roads, especially highways, have become good in the last few years. The infrastructure of the roads has been improved to a great extent, providing uninterrupted traffic flows without any jams in the streets. If you are a frequent traveler, you might not face any problems on these roads and can have a smooth journey, but still, some things are not under your control, and usually, you would hate them during your journeys.
One 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 made mandatory for four-wheelers from December 2019. More than 600+ toll plazas across the country are equipped with FASTag. Let us know what FASTag is, what the benefits of FASTag are, how to get FASTag for your vehicles, and when your FASTag is blocked.
With the help of the National Payments Corporation of India, the government of India has developed the NETC program, which refers to the National Electronic Toll Collection. This program allows the collection of toll tax without any human intervention. This program, also known as FASTag, helps reduce the rush at toll plazas nationwide. The FASTag is a device that uses RFID technology, Radio Frequency Identification, which will deduct the toll charges automatically when the vehicle passes through the FASTag lane of the toll plaza. The FASTag sticker is applied on the front windscreen of the four-wheelers, and when they pass through the toll, money will be auto-discounted from the FASTag account linked to the vehicle.
Things to know about FASTag
Though FASTag is an easy and convenient method to pay your toll tax without any human intervention, there are still 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 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 must have a separate FASTag for both vehicles. You cannot use the same FASTag for multiple cars.
Once you have purchased a FASTag for a vehicle, it will be valid for five years. You can recharge the FASTag as per the requirement after the initial buying of the FASTag.
FASTag can be recharged online through net banking, UPI, debit cards, credit cards, and Paytm. The minimum amount to recharge FASTag is Rs100, and the maximum is Rs 1,00,000.
It would be best to buy FASTag from trusted banking partners only.
It would be best if you never bought a FASTag from a company that asks to link your bank account. You should always use prepaid service for the FASTag.
What are the benefits of using FASTag?
The FASTag has many advantages for the wheeler owners. The benefits of FASTag are listed below:
Cashless Payments
One of the best advantages of making FASTag compulsory is the tension of having an exact change at toll plazas. The transaction will be cashless and automatically debited from your FASTag wallets.
Mobile Alerts through SMS
Whenever you 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 balances 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 traveling time from one place to another as it will reduce human intervention, saving your precious time.
Cashback Offers
To promote FASTag, the government is providing excellent cashback offers for users. Currently, they provide 2.5% cashback for every transaction through the FASTag wallet.
How to buy FASTags?
FASTags can be bought from various sources. Many national and private banks provide the facility to create a FASTag account. Moreover, some payment wallets, such as Paytm, also issue 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 you get FASTag.
A person can also buy the FASTag from the automobile company, where he will buy his four-wheeler, and they will install the FASTag on their new vehicles.
Documents Required for the Application of FASTag
Whenever you buy a FASTag account, you will require some documents and their photostat copy. Here is the list of the documents you will need when purchasing a FASTag for your vehicle:
RC of the vehicle for which you are going to have FASTag.
The user must also submit a passport-size photograph of the vehicle owner.
You will need a document for KYC, which is any one of these – driver’s license, adhar card, PAN card, Voter ID, and Passport.
How FASTag Works?
Here are the steps where we will learn how a FASTag transaction works when it is initiated at a toll plaza through an RFID reader:
A vehicle will pass through the FASTag lane, where the RFID device will capture FASTag details, which include the ID of tTagtag, the Class of the car, 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 NETC validates the Tag ID, the mapper will send details, such as vehicle class, tag status, and VRN. If the ma, such as a note to locTag Tag, returns a response that a particular TAG ID is not registered,
Thus, the bank will calculate the toll fare and initiate a debit request towards NETC.
After that, the NETC will forward the request to the bank that has issued FASTag to debit from the user’s FASTag account.
The host will deduct the money, 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 blocked for 48 hours if you use the FASTag lane to cross the toll gate. Your FASTag account will only be reactivated with the intervention of the NHAI helpdesk if you are traveling. Call the NHAI customer helpline number to reactivate the card, which is 1033.
Usually, when a person buys a FASTag, Rs 200 is added as a security deposit, which can be used during emergencies. The amount can be deducted from the security deposit if you have exhausted your main FASTag wallet account. Again, when you recharge your wallet, money will be added as a security deposit, which you have used, and the rest of the amount will be 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 vehicle enters a toll plaza:
First, when your vehicle enters the FASTag lane, the RFID reader on the road will auto-detect your FASTag and deduct the amount from your FASTag wallet.
You will get a confirmation receipt in your email and an alert message on your phone linked with a tag.
Once the money is deducted from the Tag, you’ll get a green signal and can pass through the plaza without hassle.
FASTag Common Problems
Everything has its pros and cons. The pros have already been explained, and now we will see what difficulties one can face while using FASTag.
Sometimes, when you pass your vehicle through the FASTag lane, the RFID reader might not detect your car’s FASTag. You might need to move your car backward and forward and ensure that FASTag is correctly placed on your vehicle to be easily detectable.
If your FASTag is undetected cited, then a man at the toll plaza will come with a handheld RFID reader to get the tag tag tag. There are some disadvantages of these handheld devices:
They are faulty at some times.
They need to be charged after 5-6 hours.
Some companies deduct the FASTag charges if you are not using them in the name of the 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 ICICI Bank?
The FASTag program by ICICI bank is a part of the NETC initiative, which NPCI rolled out with the guidelines obtained from NHAI and IHMCL. With the ICICI bank FASTag, the toll will be auto-debited when crossing any toll plaza on any national highway. ICICI FASTag is also linked to a prepaid account from where the toll tax amount is deducted.
Steps to avail ICICI Bank FASTag
You may need to follow the following steps to apply for ICICI bank FASTag:
You have to go to this link and fill out the form. You will see the following screen when you click on the link.
Fill in all the details in the form and upload your vehicle’s Registration Certificate.
After filling in the details and cross-checking your details, you need to click on confirm application.
After that, pay the required fees, and you will be issued an ICICI bank FASTag.
ICICI bank also has a point-of-sale location for issuing a FASTag for your vehicle. For these, you have to follow the following steps to get a FASTag for your car:
Take your vehicle to the required point of sale location of ICICI Bank.
You must carry the registration certificate of the vehicle, a passport-size photograph of the owner, and a valid proof of ID such as an Adhar card, PAN card, or driver’s license.
Then, you will fill out the application for the ICICI FASTag form available at POS and submit it to the official there.
After filling out the application and paying the required fees, FASTag will be issued against your vehicle, which a banking official will affix to the front windscreen of your four-wheeler.
ICICI Bank FASTag by SMS
Another method by which you can apply for FASTag is by sending an SMS to 5676766. After you have sent the SMS, you will be called by a bank executive within two working days. Here is an example of how to send an SMS:
SMS – ITOLL Pincode Name to 5676766. Example ITOLL 160072 Rohit Mehra
ICICI FASTag Price
Every bank has its charges. ICICI bank, too, has some charges, as mentioned. They charge a Rs99.12 Tag tag as a joining fee. The other cha, including the security deposit and threshold am, out are based on the vehicle class, and the tag color tag also depends upon the type of vehicle. Here are the charges levied by the bank in the table:
Tag Class
Description
Tag Colour
Tag Deposit
Threshold amount
4
Car / Jeep / Van
Violet
200
200
4
TATA Ace and similar mini Light Commercial Vehicle
The threshold amount the bank charges is the minimum amount required to activate the Tag tag. Further, the taxes will be charged separately on the above fees.
ICICI FASTag Delivery Status
You can check the delivery status of your ICICI FASTag by logging into your FASTag account. Another option is to call customer care at 1800 2100 104, a toll-free number, to check the ICICI FASTag Delivery Status.
ICICI FASTag Account Recharge
Once the FASTag account is used by a user, at some point in time, you will need a FASTag recharge to continue your journey along the national highway. You will need to recharge when your FASTag account gets low on balance. For the FASTag account recharge of ICICI, you can do it through any payment mode such as debit card, credit card, and net banking. Here are the steps to recharge your icici FASTag tag account:
Visit the link and fill in your icici bank FASTag customer ID and password. You can see the login screen here:
After you log in, go to payments and then recharge your account.
After that, select Tag/CUG wallet and choose the payment option such as debit card, credit card, etc, and your recharge is done.
You can also recharge your ICICI FASTag account by cheque and cash at the Point of Sale locations of ICICI Bank.
You might have to pay convenience fees in some payment methods, which are mentioned in the table below:
Payment Options
Funds upload time
Convenience Fees
ICICI Bank CIB and RIB
Real-time
Free
UPI
Real-time
Free
Debit Card
Real-time
0.2% to 0.85% (basis the transaction value)*
Credit Card
Real-time
1.8% of transaction value*
Internet Banking
Real-time
1% to 1.65% (basis the transaction value)*
NEFT
As per the NEFT cycle
CUG wallet recharge: Free or NEFT/RTGS charged as levied by the source banking wallet recharge: Rs.15 per transaction for Tag level recharge
Cheque
ICICI Bank: T+1Other Bank: T + 4T = time or date of transaction initiated
Free
ICICI FASTag Helpline Numbers
Type
Customer Care Number
Toll-Free
1800 2100 104
Chargeable
1860 2670 104
How to update ICICI FASTag KYC Online?
Unfortunately, updating ICICI FASTag KYC online is not currently possible. As of today, February 9, 2024, ICICI Bank only offers two options for updating your FASTag KYC:
How to change Fastag’s mobile number?
No, we cannot change the Fastag mobile number. The email ID and mobile number are registered when the customer makes their Fastag for the first time. However, customers can share their RC scans if they want to change the vehicle registration number (VRN).
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 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 they can change the bank account and recharge the wallet from the new bank account. 2. However, if the customer’s Fastag is linked with the Paytm bank account, then by changing the bank, they also need to cancel the Paytm-linked Fastag.
What do you do with Fastag when selling a car?
If you have sold/transferred your car, inform your issuing source or bank and close the account immediately.
How to Recharge ICICI Bank Fastag Through PhonePe App
Login to your PhonePe app on your Mobile
You will see the Recharge section at the top.
Select the Fastag Recharge option on 2nd number
You will see almost all Fastag operators in the list.
Select your ban operator from the list
Next, It will ask for your Vehicle number, so enter your vehicle number
Add your Fastga to your PhonePe account.
Enter the recharge amount and proceed with the payment
Complete the payment
How To Recharge ICICI Bank Fastag Through Google Pay App
Open your Google Pay application.
From the bottom of your screen, swipe up to find the Fastag.
Click on FASTag Icon and then make payment.
Choose the FASTag account that you want to send money to.
