No one likes standing in a long toll gate line waiting for the turn to come. It feels like the old method, and it is more time-consuming. To eliminate this issue, The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways made it mandatory to install a Radio Frequency Identification tag. Even to reduce the regular toll method, the toll amount is double for the vehicle with no FASTag. In such a situation, FASTag seems like the popular and only option to use at the toll plaza.
FASTag is an electronic toll collection chip that is designed for national highway tolls. The Indian government is paying close attention to the 100 per cent use of FASTag to reduce cash handling systems. Around the country, 80% of the tolls are collecting fees through FASTag, so there are no such things as cash handling. Not only FASTag seems a legit way to reduce time wastage, it feels beneficial in some other manners.
You can recharge in FASTag wallet and keep it as a prepaid system. Or, you can connect your debit or credit card to directly deduct the amount. There is less inconvenience in such methods. As if you are using a prepaid system and the money goes below the threshold, you will get an SMS alert to recharge. If the bank account is linked, then you will SMS an alert from FASTag regarding the amount deducted, and there will be an SMS alert from the bank also. It will reduce the need for cash handling employees, and it will also reduce time wastage as a major advantage. Besides this, the easy recharge system enhances the overall usability of this system. To learn in deep, here are all the impressive advantages, a method to apply, fees and other side aspects to get a complete overview of this system.
Instead of understanding why you need FASTag, the list of advantages can help you understand with ease:
Saves Time and Fuel:
As the toll amount deducts automatically at the toll plazas and FASTag is read through tag reader, it is less time-consuming. The user, who has FASTag doesn’t need to stop at the toll plaza for the cash transaction.
Cashless Payments:
The users of FASTag don’t need to carry cash for toll transactions. Moreover, they don’t need to worry about collecting the change.
Instant Message Alerts for Transactions:
The users will receive an instant notification on their cell phone for all the deductions and transactions in their mention account.
Faster Transactions:
Customers can use FASTag for initiating Auto-debit payments. It can be used for faster transactions at the toll plazas, thus saves your time too.
Ease of Buying Online:
The vehicle owners can apply for FASTag online. They don’t need to worry about RFID tag (Radio Frequency Identification). Automatically, it will be delivered for free to their doorstep. The users can also use to login with Bank, Pockets app with their identification to apply for FASTag purchase.
Online Recharge Facility:
Customers can initiate FASTag recharge online by using Credit Card, NEFT, Debit Card or Net Banking.
Validity Period:
You can use FASTag for at least for 5-years.
Exclusive Web Portal for Customers:
Customers can access their statements by logging on to the FASTag customer portal.
Cashbacks and Offers:
The users can collect a cashback of up to 2.5% on every deduction using FASTag in a financial year.
Dedicated Helpdesk:
Multiple banks offer a dedicated helpdesk to ensure support at any given point of time and provide the top-class Value Added Services related to FASTag.
Environmental Benefits:
Less use of paper is beneficial as it cuts down on air pollution.
Economical Benefit:
The FASTag online transactions can reduce the effort in monitoring manually.
To sign up for FASTag, a customer has to complete the one-time registration to activate the particular tag number for his/her vehicle. The undermentioned details will help you to know more about the registration process:
Some of them are:
FASTag can be purchased online from certified banks and POS at selected bank branches. If you want to apply for FASTag online for your vehicle then check the full detail which is mentioned below:
FASTag Pro is a non-stop FASTag recharge service that allows you to recharge any FASTag issued in India. FASTag Pro instantly recharges your FASTag. So, you can even recharge if you are far away from a toll plaza.
The other option to make FASTag online recharge is -
By using these methods, you can log in to recharge easily. Make sure that you must have turned on internet banking option. The popular options to recharge in FASTag are as follow:
Across the country, almost 22 banks allow you to recharge FASTag. These 22 official websites will have a FASTag icon that allows user to apply and recharge. Most banks are having their banking apps like HDFC- Pay ZAPP, SBI- YONO App and more. Each bank has a different process. The users can link their bank account with the FASTag account as well. You will have to submit your vehicle number as the payee detail to recharge. Usually, each bank has recommended checking their websites for proper guidance. Bear in mind that all banks are charging a particular fee for recharging online.
Google Pay is a widely popular UPI money transferring app available for iOS and Android devices. If you want to use this app, then follow the below-mentioned steps -
Your account will be linked and now you can always use Google pay to add fund to the FASTag account. You can change the threshold amount as well.
PhonePe is an Indian UPI money transfer app and it is also featuring the option to recharge the FASTag account.
Note: Paytm offers the Manage FASTag option. You can use it for your vehicle and commercial vehicle. You can similarly add money to your Paytm FASTag account as you do with your Paytm wallet. You can also recharge other tolls.
The customer can buy their FASTag at various points of sale (POS). NHAI (the National Highways Authority of India) has set up for more than 30,000 POS. You can buy FASTag online via a bank. You can also choose electronic commerce (e-commerce) platforms like- Amazon etc. to buy FASTag. You will have to share the certified copy of your vehicle and details in the electronic form.
Just pay Rs 350 for instant order on Paytm. Your FASTag will be delivered to your doorstep within a few days. After that, you must stick it to the windscreen of the vehicle. Whenever you reach a FASTag toll plaza, the toll fee will be deducted automatically. Approx. 75% of toll collector on National highways is using the FASTag at present time.
Generally, FASTags are issuing by authorized banks. They can charge a maximum of Rs 100 for each tag. The maximum amount had decided by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). That is a fixed amount. Apart from this, one must deduct a non-refundable deposit amount which varies for various types of vehicles.
Vehicle class | Description | Security deposit | Threshold amt. |
---|---|---|---|
4 | Car / Jeep / Van / Tata Ace & similar mini–Light commercial vehicle | ₹ 200 | ₹ 0 |
5 | Light Commercial vehicle 2-axle | ₹ 300 | ₹ 200 |
6 | Bus– 3 axles | ₹ 400 | ₹ 500 |
6 | Truck - 3 axle | ₹ 500 | ₹ 500 |
7 | Bus 2 axle / Minibus, Truck 2 axle | ₹ 400 | ₹ 500 |
12 | Tractor / Tractor with trailer, Truck 4, 5 & 6 -axle | ₹ 500 | ₹ 500 |
15 | Truck 7-axle and above | ₹ 500 | ₹ 500 |
16 | Earth Moving / Heavy Construction Machinery | ₹ 500 | ₹ 500 |
The users applying for a FASTag have to furnish the following documents:
Once you have collected all these documents and you opt for login, then you can know about the fees.
You can apply for FASTag offline from any of the below methods:
Once you have completed these steps, you will get FASTag within a few hours and it will be activated. There are many other ways to get FASTag, but it is one of the convenient options that you can look after.
There are two ways to contact the customer support of FASTag. Both options are :
Toll-Free number
Call at 1800-210-0104
Contact FASTag (Charges apply)
Call at 1860-267-0104