To reduce vehicular traffic at the toll plazas, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has mandated all toll plazas, pan India, to make toll payments electronic from 15 January 2021 beyond which all hybrid lanes (for cash payment) would be converted into FASTag lanes. With this mandate, all vehicles travelling through toll plazas would have to mandatorily pay toll charges using FASTag. And entering the FASTag lanes without the FASTag sticker would amount to paying double the toll price. However, the deadline has been extended to 15 February 2021.

BUYING A FASTAG
You could buy a FASTag from any of the following platforms:

1. TOLL PLAZAS ON NATIONAL HIGHWAYS 
This is the easiest way to activate your FASTag. Simply drive-in to any toll plaza while travelling and buy a FASTag from the temporary kiosks set up by the various banks. The vendor would do the needful after scanning through your documents and issue you a FASTag
Note: You have to pass through the toll gates by paying the toll fee as the vendors are across the toll plaza.

2. AUTHORISED BANKS 
FASTags are 'bank-neutral', that is, no bank is pre-assigned to the FASTag at the time you purchase it. You can buy a FASTag from any authorised bank and get the FASTag linked with your existing bank account or the FASTag Wallet. There are around 22 banks that have been authorised to issue FASTag.
Note: To buy a FASTag from any of the listed banks, you need not have an account in the same bank. You can drop by any of the listed banks, submit the relevant documents and you are ready to receive the tag. 

3. ONLINE 
You can buy a FASTag online by visiting the website of any authorised bank, even if you do not have an account in the same bank. 
• Look for the FASTag option on the website 
• Click on the 'Apply for FASTag' option
• Enter your vehicle number and registered mobile number to receive an OTP. 
• Enter the prompted details like name, address, etc. and upload necessary documents. 
• Make the online payment for the FASTag through any netbanking / Debit Card / Credit Card or any other UPI mode.
Your FASTag would be delivered to your given address. You can then self-activate it by entering the vehicle by feeding the details into the 'My FASTag' mobile app.

4. MOBILE APPS 
There are several mobile apps from where you can purchase FASTag such as My FASTag mobile app, PayTm, Amazon.in, Airtel Payment App, Google Play Store, Apple Store and so on. Thereafter, you have the flexibility to link the FASTag with any one of your existing bank accounts. 

RECHARGING A FASTAG
Once purchased, the tag is valid for 5 years. All you would need is to recharge / top up the tag as per your requirement.
1. Toll plazas: Simply drive to a toll plaza and get a recharge done from a vendor at any temporary kiosk. 
2. Banks: If the FASTag is already linked with your bank account, then you can simply go online and recharge using Netbanking / Debit Card. You only need to ensure that your FASTag-linked bank account has sufficient balance to allow for toll payments. 
3. Online: You can visit the official website of FASTag www.fastag.org and recharge your tag through any of the UPI channels.
 4. Prepaid wallet : Prepaid wallet facility is available in My FASTag mobile app and all other such apps, where you can load money and get your toll fee deducted from the prepaid wallet instead of getting it directly deducted from a bank account.
FASTag is a perfect solution for a hassle free trip on national highways. Currently the programme is live on 650+ toll plazas across the country. More toll plazas will be brought under the FASTag program in the future. 

Going ahead, for motorists, there is no escaping from FASTag!

Authorised Banks for FASTag
• Axis Bank: 1800-419-8585
• ICICI Bank: 1800-2100-104
• IDFC Bank: 1800-266-9970
• State Bank of India: 1800-11-0018
• HDFC Bank: 1800-120-1243
• Karur Vysya Bank: 1800-102-1916
• EQUITAS Small Finance Bank: 1800-419-1996
• PayTM Payments Bank Ltd: 1800-102-6480
• Kotak Mahindra Bank: 1800-419-6606
• Syndicate Bank: 1800-425-0585
• Federal Bank: 1800-266-9520
• South Indian Bank: 1800-425-1809
• Punjab National Bank: 080-67295310
• Punjab & Maharashtra Co-op Bank:1800-223-993
• Saraswat Bank: 1800-22-9999
• Fino Payments Bank: 1860-266-3466
• City Union Bank: 1800-2587200
• Bank of Baroda: 1800-1034568
• IndusInd Bank: 1860-5005004
• Yes Bank: 1800-1200
• Union Bank: 1800-222244
• Nagpur Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd: 1800-2667183