Pay at petrol pumps in seconds using FASTags

Once FASTags are adopted at petrol pumps, paying for your petrol and diesel will be smoother and quicker. FASTags, currently used only at Toll Plazas, allows vehicles to pass through highways without stopping for cash payments.

New Delhi: Making payments at petrol pumps will speed up as fuel retailers may soon adopt FASTags, used at toll plazas, as a mode of payment. Three state-run oil marketing companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL have signed MoUs for sale of FASTags through petrol pumps.

Coming soon: Pay at petrol pumps in seconds using FASTags

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently announced that plans were afoot that FASTags could be used by consumers for buying petrol and even for parking facilities.

What are FASTags

Built on Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) technology, FASTags are reloadable tags which enable automatic payment directly from bank or prepaid accounts. Affixed on the vehicle’s windscreen, FASTags are currently in use for payment at toll plazas on national and state highways.

The toll amount is deducted automatically by a tag reader when the vehicle approaches the toll plaza. A vehicle with FASTag doesn’t need to stop at the toll plaza for cash payment.

At present, you need to maintain a prepaid FASTag account which can be recharged online. The tags can be bought from select bank branches.

How will FASTags work at petrol pumps

To ensure faster roll-out of electronic toll collection across the country, FASTags will soon be available at petrol pumps. Unlike prepaid accounts, these new FASTags from Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL ) will be linked to bank accounts. It will also do away with KYC requirements as money will go through bank account, a road transport ministry statement said.

Two FASTag mobile apps have been launched by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for the purpose. The My FASTag Customer app can instantly recharge any FASTag through UPI and links the IHMCL FASTag with your bank account. The ministry statement said wallet services were also proposed in the near future.

In the FASTag Point of Sale app, it is possible to create and manage distribution partners, as also to allow sales via petrol pumps.

With the IHMCL FASTags, consumers will be able to link their FASTags with any of their bank accounts or payment apps, a feature that was not available earlier. In the earlier versions, consumers had to link their FASTags to the banks from which they purchase the tags.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Sanjeev Ranjan told PTI the authority was working on various plans to make FASTags as a base for transactions to buy petrol and pay parking fees. Once the mechanism is ready, the payment collection system will become smoother and quicker in petrol pumps.

Source: http://bit.ly/2TFuMmo