Tired of waiting in long queues at toll booths on national highways? Worry not! With the introduction of FASTags, it is now possible to make payments in a jiffy.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that it is mandatory for all private and commercial vehicles to have FASTags from December 1, 2019.
What are FASTags?
FASTags are a new electronic toll collection method set up in India by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). They employ Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology which enables making payments directly from your savings account/prepaid linked to the tag.
The tag needs to be stuck on the windscreen of the vehicle. If you have this tag on your vehicle, you do not have to stop at the toll to make the payment. As your vehicle passes through the booth, the scanner will automatically scan your tag and deduct the exact amount of money from your bank account or prepaid wallet.
Remember, you cannot use the same tag for two or more vehicles. You need to have a separate tag for each vehicle.
How to buy the tag?
Here is the list of banks that issue the tags:
| Name of the certified banks | Customer care number |
| Axis Bank | 1800-419-8585 |
| ICICI Bank | 1800-2100-104 |
| IDFC Bank | 1800-266-9970 |
| State Bank of India | 1800-11-0018 |
| HDFC Bank | 1800-120-1243 |
| Karur Vysya Bank | 1800-102-1916 |
| EQUITAS Small Finance Bank | 1800-419-1996 |
| PayTM Payments Bank Ltd | 1800-102-6480 |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 1800-419-6606 |
| Syndicate Bank | 1800-425-0585 |
| Federal Bank | 1800-266-9520 |
| South Indian Bank | 1800-425-1809 |
| Punjab National Bank | 080-67295310 |
| Punjab & Maharashtra Co-op Bank | 1800-223-993 |
| Saraswat Bank | 1800-266-9545 |
| Fino Payments Bank | 1860-266-3466 |
| City Union Bank | 1800-2587200 |
| Bank of Baroda | 1800-1034568 |
| IndusInd Bank | 1860-5005004 |
| Yes Bank | 1800-1200 |
| Union Bank | 1800-222244 |
| Nagpur Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd | 1800-2667183 |
Source: Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL)
Online shopping sites like Amazon are also selling these tags.
Android smartphone users can download the MYFASTag app from the Google Play Store/Apple Store.
You also have an option to recharge your prepaid wallet if you do not wish to link the tag to your bank account. Every time the money in the wallet gets used up, you can recharge it once again.
How to activate the tags?
Self-activation:
The tag that you purchase online is based on the do-it-yourself concept where you can activate it yourself by entering your vehicle details in the 'MYFASTag' mobile app.
The NHAI prepaid wallet facility is also available in the app where you can load your money directly if you do not wish to link your account to the tag.
Activating at the bank:
If you buy the tag at your bank's branch, then you will have to submit an application requesting for the FASTag, KYC documents and registration certificate of your vehicle.
How to recharge your FASTag?
If your FASTag is already linked to your bank account, you need not worry about recharging as long as your bank account has sufficient balance in it. However, if you have opted for the prepaid wallet, then you can recharge in the mobile app or bank website through various modes of payments such as UPI/debit card/credit card/NEFT/Net Banking/IMPS.