NPCI Circular Has No Impact on FASTag Customer Experience: Government
The government has made it clear that the latest circular from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will not affect the overall customer experience of FASTag customers. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways released a statement on Wednesday in response to concerns over reports citing changes in FASTag rules, which purportedly limit transactions if the tag has been idle for more than 60 minutes before toll read time and up to 10 minutes later.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) reiterated that the circular dated January 28 is meant to settle issues arising between Acquirer Banks and Issuer Banks relating to FASTag status at the time of passing through toll plazas. It also indicated that the order ensures transactions to be within reasonable time so as not to inconvenience customers by taking long to deduct.
"All National Highway Toll Plazas are running on ICD 2.5 protocol, which offers real-time tag status. Therefore, FASTag users can recharge their tags at any time prior to driving through the toll plaza", the ministry asserted. A few of the toll plazas on state highways continue to run on the older ICD 2.4 protocol and need to be updated periodically with tag status. It is planned to migrate all such toll plazas to the newer ICD 2.5 protocol at an early date, the NHAI said.
In order to simplify payment and prevent recharging manually, FASTag consumers are requested to connect their wallets to UPI, current accounts, or savings accounts with the facility of auto-recharge. Consumers can go on recharging their FASTags through various sources, such as UPI, net banking, and mobile wallets, before the toll plazas.
At the same time, the recent NPCI data showed a consistent growth in FASTag transactions. There was a 6% growth in transactions in December 2023 at 382 million compared to 359 million in November. The value of total transactions also grew by 9%, from ₹6,070 crore in November to ₹6,642 crore in December.
The introduction of new FASTag regulations is intended to improve the efficiency of the toll collection system and reduce delays. With ongoing digital adoption and system improvement, authorities are determined to provide a smooth experience for commuters traveling on FASTag across national and state highways.
