NPCI Announces Fastag Recharge Option Through BHIM UPI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that vehicle owners will now have the option of Fastag recharge via BHIM UPI among other recharge options. Any smartphone with BHIM UPI enabled app will allow vehicle owners to recharge their Fastags on the go and avoid long queues at the toll plazas. The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program has been designed to meet the needs of the Indian market and is accessible across toll plaza pan India. The toll payment solution includes clearinghouse services for settlement and dispute management.

Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI said, "Consumer experience with NETC FASTag is our primary focus. We are pleased to announce the NETC FASTag recharge option through BHIM UPI. We believe that this facility would give them a smooth, secure and transparent toll payments experience just by using any of the UPI enabled mobile applications"

The RFID based Fastags have been mandated on national highways across the country since December 15, 2019, and the system uses a reloadable tag fixed on the windscreen of a vehicle, which enables automatic deduction of toll charges from the prepaid or a savings account linked to it, negating the need to stop a vehicle at the toll plaza.

A recent report from PTI states that pan-India rollout of electronic toll collection on national highways has resulted in about 1.10 crore Fastags beings issued till December 25, 2019, as per NHAI. Fastags are available on 523 toll plazas across the country. NHAI further stated that the highway authority is observing sales of nearly 1.5-2 lakh daily, while the collections from the Fastags has touched about Rs. 46 crore.

NHAI officials further revealed that Fastag toll transaction has reached about Rs. 24 lakh on a daily basis, bringing in the much-needed transparency in toll collection at booths. About 75 per cent of the lanes at toll plazas now come with Fastag operability, while 25 per cent lanes have been kept for users that do not have the RFID-based device yet. However, vehicle owners without the Fastag will be charged double the toll in order to push owners to install the Fastag at the earliest.