Monday, January 1, 2018

FASTag - It's easy and convenient

What is FASTagFASTag is an electronic toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highway Authority of India. It employs Radio Frequency Identification technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.


How to get FASTag for your vehicle - You can buy FASTag online from Paytm Mall. Just search for FASTag in the website and you can see the details as shown below.
You need to fill in your details and make the payment.

What are the procedures involved in getting the FASTag in hand - After paying the required amount, you need to wait 1-2 days and you will receive an SMS stating that, you need to upload the soft copy image of your RC card/RC Book with a link. Open the link in browser and upload the RC image as mentioned. It may take another 1-2 days to have your FASTag account getting activated. Once everything is ready (normally 4-5 days after making the payment), you will receive the FASTag by courier to your mailing address. Since the FASTag is radio active, the cover is generally made of aluminium foil.

Where to place the FASTag - Just follow the instructions, as mentioned in the FASTag parcel. Generally, the sticker will be placed behind the rear view mirror of your vehicle.

How to transfer money to your FASTag account - When you buy the FASTag using your Paytm account, an amount of Rs.150/- will be added to your FASTag account. You can see this transaction in your Paytm wallet transaction history as shown below.

After this initial transaction, you cannot transfer any amount into your FASTag account. Instead you just need to make sure that, there is enough balance available in your Paytm wallet account. Money is getting transferred automatically from your Paytm wallet to FASTag account, as and when you pass through a toll. Every time, there has to be a minimum of Rs. 150 in your FASTag account. (I believe the amount 150 is for cars and depending on the size of the vehicle, this amount varies)
You can see the details of your FASTag transactions in the FASTag transaction history section. Till your first toll transaction, this section will be empty. This section will not be having the transaction related to the first 150 and it will have only toll related information.

Also please make sure that the manage FASTag section is displaying your FASTag as active before your travel 
At the toll plaza, always look for FASTag lane and it's generally very smooth, as good as no stoppage. It was a pleasure for us in our last trip to Yellagiri, as we didn't lose a single minute in THREE + THREE = SIX toll plazas (to and fro)

Happy FASTaging!!!