NHAI Changes FASTag Requirement, Criteria for Minimum Balance Changed

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced that now banks issuing FASTag will no longer make a "mandatory" requirement for the vehicle owners to keep a minimum balance in their wallets apart from a security deposit.

Earlier, the commuters had to abide by the condition of keeping a minimum balance in their FASTag wallet apart from the security deposit.

The bank customers were required to keep a minimum balance of about Rs 150 to Rs 200. In the case where the minimum balance was not kept, many passengers were not allowed to go further on the toll plaza, which caused undue problems for them.

The NHAI has now come out with its decision that the drivers would be allowed to pass through the toll plaza as long as there was no negative balance in their FASTag account or wallet.

Currently, there are more than 2.54 crore, FASTag users, across the country and it is reported that FASTag accounts for 80 per cent of the total toll collection on the national highway.

To ensure smooth implementation of it, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has updated its Mobile App 'My FASTag App.'

A new feature has been added to the app, that is, 'Check Balance Status', simply by entering the vehicle number.

This new feature will further help the users to verify tag status of the vehicle during their passage through a toll lane in case the tag status has not been updated in the toll plaza server due to any reasons.

It will not only help the Highway User but also the Toll Operator to check tag balance status on a real-time basis and eliminate the problem of dispute on tag balance.

The refresh time limit of Blacklisted Tags has been reduced by the authority from 10 minutes to only 03 minutes. This is done speed up the update of the status in the ETC system and show the current status in the App for seamless passage

My FASTag App will show the FASTag wallet balance status in form of colour codes –

1. Green colour for Active tag, which means sufficient balance

2. Orange/Amber colour for tags with low balance

3. Red colour for Blacklisted tags

If the user has a low balance, the vehicle users can instantly recharge using the Mobile App or avail instant recharge facility at toll plaza Point of Sale (POS).

To encourage transparency in the system, this new feature is introduced to ensure that payment of User Fee is done through FASTag at Toll Plazas along with reduced time. It will not only save time and fuel but also will help commuters to make a hassle-free and enjoyable journey.

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