Everything You Need To Know About FASTag

The world has been modernizing day by day. From recharge scratch cards to online wallets by using which you can recharge by sitting at home. If convenience is not one of the perks of this day to day improving technology then we would never know what is! We all travel, right? Whether using our vehicle or we have a hired professional driver, thus, it would be facile to say that every one of us is aware of tolls in India. These tolls are present at the toll roads. It is one of the electronic modifications of these toll booths. That’s right! It is digitizing the collection of tolls. Without a doubt, the first thing in your mind that would come is “saving time and energy.” Well! Perks are everywhere. Yet, there is a lot that you must know about FASTag. Let’s start with the introduction.
Introduction to FASTag
It promotes the electronic collection of tolls in India. This system has taken over into operation by the NHAI, i.e.., National Highway Authority of India. The surprising part is that this technology is quite diversified from other online payment methods. On one hand, we have to use our phones, linked bank accounts, and pin codes to make a single payment, FASTag is more than that. Yes! It is more in the context of technology. Hence, it is easier to make e-toll payments in India than any other type of payment.
If we revise the short-note working of FASTag, this tag is installed at the windscreen of the vehicles. The unique FASTag code or number is linked to wallets or bank accounts. Hence, when you pass any toll, the QR code automatically scans and sends out the toll payment. It is as easy as entering a shopping mall without stopping for a check. Yes! With this tag installed at your windscreen, you do not need to stop on tolls anymore. This is why its initials spell out the word “FAST.”
It is noteworthy to mention that the journey of FASTag from being a pilot project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in 2014 to becoming a permanent way of paying tolls in 2019 has been long. Yet, the users of FASTag has reviewed this digitalization as an exclusive strategy towards traffic management.
How to install FASTag?
The ministry of Highway and Roads have passed an official statement not long ago. This statement mentioned that the affixing of FASTag on private as well as commercial vehicles would be mandatory on 1st December and onwards. Indeed, different banking institutions in India have their specified FASTag for their customers or account holders. For instance,
ICICI FASTag
SBI FASTag
HDFC FASTag
AXIS Bank FASTag
kvb fastag
Equitas fastag
and more. Let’s find out how you can get this respective tag installed at your vehicle.
Here is a step by step guide to install FASTag in India.
- Step 1: Purchase a FASTag
How to get a FASTag? It is important to note that this e-toll tag is no recharge card which you can purchase at a local store. You can purchase this tag from authorized banking institutions. As per the National Highway Authority of India, following banking institutions can assign FASTag to the customers. These institutions are HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation), ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India), IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company), Axis Bank, syndicate bank and SBI (State Bank of India).
Apart from these banking institutions, you can also purchase a FASTag via an online wallet called Paytm. If you want to purchase a e-toll tag neither from a bank or using an online wallet, you can buy one at toll plazas, RTOs, petrol stations, transport hubs and lounges, and common service centers.
Yet, one of the easiest ways to purchase it is going on the FASTag website and apply for one.
- Step 2: Documentation
True! In India, nothing comes with few documents. This rule also applies in the context of purchasing this tag. If you are planning to purchase a paytm FASTag, you only required to upload VRC, i.e.., Vehicle Registration Certificate online. On the other hand, if you are purchasing it from any banking institution or toll plaza, you would require a list of documents. These would include Vehicle Registration Certificate, passport photo, and KYC documents. KYC documents mainly include aadhaar card ( 12 Digit individual identity number) and PAN (Permanent account number) Card.
The above-given requirements are valid if the vehicle is registered under the name of the owner. In case of a vehicle registered under the name of a corporation, the following documents would be required. These are PAN (Permanent account number) of the firm, the ID of signing authorities (both partners in case of partnership firm), list of partners, partnership deed, and address proof for verification.
To make the installation process easy, you must prefer to purchase FASTag from a banking institution to which you are already connected. For example, if you are a customer of ICICI Bank, you should prefer to purchase FASTag ICICI. It would make the installation process easy because banking institutions already have all the given documents in the list and thus, there is less trouble.
- Step 3: Installation cost
The installation cost of a FASTag is quite affordable. Whether you go for a Paytm FASTag or HDFC FASTag login, both options do not cost more than 500 INRs. The government gets all the credit for creating such technology along with easy financing terms. If you look out for installation options of FASTag, you would find PayTm FASTag recharge cost as 100 INR, 250 security deposit, and 150 INR as a threshold. Apart from this, banking institutions like axis bank FASTag login financial terms are slightly less costly. Authorized banking institutions take 200 INR as a security deposit and only 100 INR as a threshold.
It is noteworthy to mention that this security deposit amount remains refundable. The threshold amount is for covering the cost of the tag.
- Step 4: Final installation
Once you have received your e-toll tag, it is important to install it correctly on the vehicle. If you are not sure how to install it, you can go to a petrol station or the nearest transport hub. It is significant to install the tag in the very middle of the windscreen of your vehicle. It is because on toll plazas the scanner is infrastructured in the center. It allows for easy and quick scanning. If the tag is incorrectly installed, the toll scanner would not be able to scan the code and your vehicle would not be allowed to pass through the toll. Hence, you can see how it can be an issue and lead to a lot of unwanted hustle.
How to recharge a FASTag?
You can recharge FASTag using PayTm wallet, debit card, credit card, net banking, UPI (Unified Payment interface), NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer), and RTGS (Real time gross settlement). These various sources can recharge your FASTag within seconds.
Of course, you need to go the extra mile to recharge your tag. You need to download the FASTag mobile application. This application includes several recharge plans. To the reader’s surprise, this recharge is as discountable as any other recharge plan. Yes! Using FASTag app to recharge the tag offers your number of cashback offers. This recharge has a validity of five years. NHAI has stated that there is no limited validity for a tag. It can be used for an unlimited time.
During the promotion of FASTag (when it was not mandatory), the e-toll tag application has been offering a cashback of 7.5% of the recharge cost. To be honest, this seems very generous. Yet, today since the use of FASTag has become mandatory, a cashback on every recharge can cause NHAI a lot of loss. However, as long as you can enjoy cash back, there are no regrets!
How to login a FASTag account?
It is a prepaid tag. It allows travelers with vehicles to pass the toll booth without stopping. Yes! By using FASTag, you do not need to pay any cash at the toll booth. Instead, this tag pays for it. Yet, it requires to recharge. Let’s find out how to log in to a FASTag account once you get it installed.
- Once you purchase and install a tag on the windscreen of your vehicle, you will receive an email in your email inbox. This inbox includes your registered user ID and wallet ID.
- If you do not have any email registered with the banking institution, you would receive the above information on your mobile number.
- Apart from this, if you have registered as an independent person, you can log in to FASTag account using your retail username and password.
- If you have registered as a corporation, you can log in to FASTag account using corporate login.
- You can also go to FASTag login portal online. It would be present on your banking institution’s online official website.
- In the username ID column, you are required to enter a 12-digit code that you had received in the email.
- In case of no email whatsoever, you can also use a 14-digit code which refers to your wallet ID.
- Enter a password in the next column. It is important to keep this password private and not share it with anyone unknown.
What are the benefits of FASTag login account?
- When you finally login to your FASTag account, you would find its interface just as simple as any other wallet that allows you to recharge. The following are the benefits of FASTag login account.
- This account allows you to manage your user profile. You can add information in your account which makes your account as individualized as possible.
- One of the amazing features of a FASTag account is that it allows the users to download their financial statements in the excel format. This statement includes also past wallet activities. This feature remains quite helpful when the vehicle is registered in the name of a corporation. You can keep track of where the vehicle has been and how many tolls it has passed throughout the day or month.
- This account also offers service requests. You can use a service request to close your respective individualized account anytime.
- In case of any transactional disputes or unusual activity in your account, you can ask for help using the service request option.
- You can recharge your e-toll tag using FASTag account anytime and anywhere. As mentioned earlier, FASTag recharge plans come with various cashback offers.
- When it comes to inspecting the total cost of tolls while you are traveling, it was difficult earlier. But, using the transaction history section in FASTag, you can predict the cost of tolls while you are traveling from one place to another.
- When you are passing through a toll at national highways, you get a 2.5% cashback on your FASTag wallet. It is an era of benefits.
Can you transfer FASTag ownership?
Have you bought a new vehicle? Or are you taking over commercial vehicles for personal use onwards? Well! If the answer is yes, it would be a complex situation because the ownership of FASTag remains the same until or unless you request to change the same. Yes! You can transfer the FASTag ownership from one registered vehicle to another or from past owner to current owner.
How? This transfer would require the current owner of the vehicle to put a request for fresh FASTag. It would require an individual’s or new owner’s official documents. In case you have purchased FASTag from Paytm, you can just peel off FASTag from one vehicle to another (in the case of new vehicle purchased) and you are good to go.
It is important to note that if you are selling your car or vehicle to another person, you must deactivate and peel off your FASTag. Otherwise, the toll amount would be charged from your banking account anyway. It can cost you a countable loss.
Conclusion
Are you ready to discover the benefits of this world-class e-toll strategy introduced by the NHAI? Well! From 1st December 2019, the use of this tag is mandatory. It is a matter of convenience for the government as well as the citizens of India.
“Stay tuned for more information!”