FASTag Paytm and KYC Deadlines Explained: Will My FASTag Still Work After February 2024?
Post February 29, 2024, your FASTags can be blacklisted, while those issued via PayTM will not be able to top-up on balance
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The primary method of making toll payments, the FASTag, has been in the news lately due to major developments on two fronts. First is that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) put a deadline of getting the complete KYC done for your FASTag, and the second one involves FASTags issued by PayTM following a decision from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), asking the financial tech platform to shut down its payments bank. We have summed up what you need to know about the issues, and what you need to do.
NHAI Pushes For Full KYC With FASTag
The NHAI recently announced an initiative called “One Vehicle, One FASTag” in an effort to optimise toll collection and minimise delays. As part of the push, NHAI has directed vehicle owners to complete the KYCs for their FASTags in accordance with RBI guidelines. The original deadline was January 31 but has now been pushed to February 29.
Why now?
One of reasons behind this is that NHAI observed numerous instances where one vehicle was issued multiple FASTags and cases where a single FASTag was being used by multiple vehicles. Once KYC has been completed, each vehicle will only have one valid FASTag registered to it.
What if I don’t complete FASTag KYC?
If the KYC is still not completed before the deadline, the FASTag of your vehicle will be deactivated, even if it still has some balance left. Also, if you have multiple FASTags registered to your vehicle with valid KYC, only the most recently purchased one will remain active, and the others will be blacklisted.
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For owners, the best thing to do right now is to get the KYC done for their FASTag, which can be done both online and offline, and use only one FASTag moving forward. You can check the KYC status of your FASTag either by logging in to the official website, or check the related bank website that issued your particular FASTag.
Paytm Payments Bank FASTag Crisis
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked Paytm to shut down its payments bank due to irregularities, and to stop accepting fresh deposits in existing accounts and wallets post February 29, which includes FASTags issued by PayTM. Since FASTags became mandatory for making toll payments without penalties, PayTM is one of the most popular services issuing the RFID tag and so this latest development can cause issues for a large number of people.
Until the end of February 2024, users can still top up their PayTM FASTags and can still use them after the deadline. But once the balance runs out, you will not be able to recharge the PayTM FASTag and therefore not use it to make payments at tolls.
While CEOs of multiple startups are urging RBI to take back their ruling, we still don’t know if RBI will take it back anytime soon. To be on the safer side, and avoid problems in the near future, we recommend you get a new FASTag from another provider, like a bank, and complete your KYC for the same.
We will be on the lookout for any other developments regarding FASTags in the coming days, so stay tuned to CarDekho for the latest updates.
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