Airtel Fastag – Recharge – Status– Toll Free

Table of Contents

Indian roads and especially highways have become really good in the last few years. The infrastructure of the roads have been improved to a great extent which provides uninterrupted traffic flows without any jams on the roads. If you are a frequent traveller, you might not face any problems on these roads and can have a smooth journey, but still there were some things which were not under our control and usually you would hate during your journeys. One of such problems travellers face was long queues at toll plazas across the highway, which would waste a lot of time waiting for your turn. But now the government has introduced FASTag for vehicles which have been made mandatory for four wheelers from December 2019. More than 600+ toll plazas across the country are equipped with FASTag. Let us get to know about what is FASTag, benefits of FASTag, how to get FASTag for your vehicles and when is your FASTag blacklisted.

What is FASTag?

The government of India with the help of National Payments Corporation of India has developed the NETC program which refers to National Electronic Toll Collection. This programs allows collection of toll tax without any human intervention. This program is also known as FASTag which help to reduce the rush at toll plazas across the. The FASTag is device which uses RFID technology that is Radio Frequency Identification which will deduct the toll charges automatically when the vehicle will pass through FASTag lane of toll plaza. The FASTag sticker is applied on the front windscreen of the four wheelers and when they will pass through toll, money will be auto debited from the FASTag account linked with the vehicle.

Things to know about FASTag

Though FASTag is easy and convenient method to pay your toll tax without any human intervention, but still there are some points about the technology which are necessary to know before you move your vehicle on highways:

FASTag can be used at any toll plaza across the country irrespective of the fact that whosoever is the acquirer of toll plaza.
FASTag is affixed on front windscreen of the four wheeler.
If you own more than one four wheeler, you will have to have separate FASTag for both the vehicles. You cannot use same FASTag for multiple vehicles.
Once you have purchased a FASTag for a vehicle, it will be valid for 5 years. You can recharge the FASTag as per the requirement after the initial buying of the FASTag.
FASTag can be recharged online through netbanking, UPI, debit cards, credit cards and paytm. Minimum amount to recharge FASTag is Rs100 and maximum amount is Rs 1,00,000.
You should always buy FASTag from trusted banking partners only.
You should never buy a FASTag from the company which asks to link your bank account. You should always used prepaid service for the FASTag.

What are the benefits of using FASTag?

The FASTag have many advantages for the for wheeler owners. The benefits of FASTag are listed below:

Cashless Payments

One of the best advantages by making FASTag compulsory is the tension of having an exact change at toll plazas. The transaction will be cashless and money will be automatically debited from your FASTag wallets.

Mobile Alerts through SMS

Whenever you will pass through any toll plaza, you will receive sms alerts on your registered mobile numbers when money will be deducted from FASTag. You will also receive alerts for low balance in your FASTag wallet.

Online Recharge

This is one of the best advantages of having FASTag. You can recharge it anytime using debit cards, net banking and UPI.

Faster Moving on Highway

Thus it also reduces the travelling time from one place to another as it will reduce human intervention saving your precious time.

Cashback Offers

For promoting FASTag government is providing very good cashback offers for the users. Currently they are providing 2.5% cashback for every transaction through FASTag wallet.

How to buy FASTags?

FASTags can be bought from various sources . Many nationalized and private banks are providing the facility to create a FASTag account. Moreover, some of the payment wallets such as paytm are also issuing the FASTag for the four wheelers. You can also buy FASTag at toll plazas, where they have a Point of sale (POS) which will help in getting FASTag.

Here is the list of banks which are providing FASTag accounts:

List of Banks Providing FASTags Account

Bank	Customer Care Helpline	Tag issuance charge
Airtel Payments Bank	400	Rs. 100
EQUITAS SMALL FINANCE BANK	1800 103 1222	Rs. 100
IDFC FIRST Bank	1800-266-9970	₹200 including service tax
PAYTM Payments Bank	1800-102-6480	Rs. 100
State Bank of India	1800-11-0018	Rs. 100
Axis Bank Ltd	1800-419-8585	Rs. 200 + service tax
Federal Bank	1800-266-9520	Rs. 100
Indusind Bank	1860 -500- 5004	Rs.200
Punjab and Maharashtra Co-op Bank	1800-223-993	Rs. 200
Syndicate Bank	1800-425-0585	Rs. 200
Bank of Baroda	1800-103-4568	Rs. 84.74 + GST
FINO Payments Bank	1860-266-3466	Rs.100 + GST
Karur Vysya Bank	1800-102-1916	Rs.100
Punjab National Bank	080-67295310	Rs.100
Union Bank of India	1800- 22- 22 44	Rs.100
Canara Bank	1800-103-3568	Rs. 200
HDFC Bank	1800-120-1243	Rs. 200
Kotak Mahindra Bank	1800-300-69090	Rs. 100
Saraswat Co-operative Bank	1800-266-9545	Rs.100
Yes Bank Ltd	1800 -1200	Rs.100
City Union Bank Ltd	1800-258-7200	Rs. 200
ICICI Bank	1800-2100-104	Rs. 99.12
Nagapur Nagarik Sahakari Bank	1800 -266- 7183	Rs 100
South Indian Bank	1800-425-1809	Rs 100

A person can also buy the FASTag from the automobile company from where he is going to buy his four wheeler and they will install the FASTag on their new vehicles.

Documents Required for the Application of FASTag

Whenever you are going to buy a FASTag account, you will require some documents along with their photostat copy. Here is the list of the documents you will need when buying a FASTag for your vehicle:

RC of the vehicle for which you are going to have FASTag.
The user will also require to submit the passport size photograph of vehicle owner.
You will need a document for KYC which is any one of these – driving license, adhar card, Pan Card, Voter Id and Passport.

How FASTag Works?

Here are the steps where we will learn how does FASTag transaction works when it is initiated at toll plaza through RFID reader:

A vehicle will pass through FASTag lane where RFID device will capture FASTag details which includes ID of the tag, Class of the vehicle and TID which is sent to the bank for processing.
The bank will further initiate a request to NETC Mapper which will validate the tag details.
After the Tag ID is validated by NETC, the mapper will send details which are vehicle class, tag status and VRN. IF the mapper is unable to locate Tag, it will return a response that particular TAG ID is not registered.
Thus the bank will calculate the toll fare and a debit request is initiated towards NETC.
After that The NETC will forward the request to bank which has issued FASTag to debit from FASTag account of user.
Now the money will be deducted by the host and the user will receive an SMS alert. The host will also send the message to NETC.

This is how FASTag will deduct the money from your account and you can travel hassle free.

FASTag Blacklisted

If you pass through any toll plaza and your FASTag wallet is out of money, your FASTag wallet is usually blacklisted for 48 hours, if you use the FASTag lane for crossing the toll gate. Your FASTag account will only be reactivated with the intervention of NHAI helpdesk in case you are travelling. You can also call on NHAI customer helpline number which is 1033 for reactivating card.

Usually when a person buys a FASTag Rs 200 is added as a security deposit which can be used during emergencies. If in case you have exhausted your main FASTag wallet account, the amount can be deducted from the security deposit. And again when you will recharge your wallet, firstly money will get added as a security deposit which you have used and rest of the amount will get deposited in your main FASTag wallet.

How to Use FASTag?

Now we are aware of FASTag, we will see how the FASTag works when a vehicles enters toll plaza:

First of all when your vehicle enters FASTag lane, RFID reader on the lane will auto detect your FASTag and deduct the amount from your FASTag wallet.
You will get a confirmation receipt on your email and also an alert message on your phone linked with tag.
Once the money is deducted from your tag you will get a green signal and you can successfully pass through the plaza without any hassle.

FASTag Common Problems

Everything has its pros and cons. Pros are already explained and now we will see what are the difficulties one can face while using FASTag.

Sometimes when you will pass your vehicle through FASTag lane, the RFID reader might not detect the FASTag of your vehicle. You might need to move your vehicle little backward and forward and you must also ensure that FASTag is correctly placed on your vehicle so that it’s easily detectable.

If your FASTag is still not detected than a man on toll plaza will come with handheld RFID reader to detect your tag. There are some disadvantages of these hand-held devices:

They are faulty at some times.
They need to be charged after 5-6 hours.

Some companies are deducting the FASTag charges if you are not using in the name of FASTag event. So don’t buy FASTag from such companies. As FASTag is a prepaid wallet you don’t need to link your bank account with FASTag.

How to Buy FASTag with Airtel Payments Bank?

Airtel Payments Bank is issuing the FASTags for your vehicle. They have currently partnered with NPCI that is National Payments Corporation of India and also with IHMCL known as Indian Highways Management Company Limited to sell the FASTag in the country. If you buy the tag from the airtel app on your phone, you will receive Rs 50 instant cashback. This tag can also be purchased from selected point of sale banking points of Airtel Payments Bank.

FASTag bought from Airtel Payments Bank is directly linked to your airtel bak wallet, therefore the charges will be deducted from your bank directly when you pass your vehicle through any toll plaza.

Steps to avail Airtel FASTag Buy

Here are the steps how you can avail Airtel FASTag from your phone:

First of all, you need to download airtel thanks app from the play store and register into app.
Login into the app after you have completed your registration.
After that you need to click on Airtel Thanks on the Homepage of the app.
Click on Airtel Payments FASTag banner which is located on rewards section.
Proceed with filling the details of your vehicle and after that complete the payment process.
After the payment is successful you are eligible for Rs 50 cashback which will credited in your wallet within 48 hours of completion of your payment.
After that Registration Certificate of your vehicle will be verified in 2 working days.
You will receive your tag within 6-8 working days at the address you have mentioned while applying for FASTag.

Airtel FASTag Fees and Charges

Whenever you apply for the FASTag with the Airtel Payments Banks, you will be levied the following charges including the GST:

Tag Joining Fee (One-time Fee): 100/- ( including all applicable taxes)
Tag Reissuance Fee (One-time Fee): 100/- ( including all applicable taxes)

Along with these charges you will have to pay a security deposit which will depend on vehicle class which means type of vehicle which in numbers are type 4,5,6,7,12, 15, 16. There is also a threshold amount for every vehicle which is necessary at the time of tag activation. The charges are subject to change from time to time. You can see the table below for the FASTag charges from Airtel Payments bank.

Airtel Payments Bank FASTag Charges

Vehicle Class	Description	Security Deposit (in Rs.)	Threshold Amount (in Rs.)
4	Car / Jeep / Van / Tata Ace and Similar mini Light Commercial Vehicle	200	150
5	Light Commercial vehicle 2-axle	300	140
6	Bus– 3 axle	400	300
6	Truck – 3 axle	500	300
7	Bus 2 axle / Minibus, Truck 2 axle	400	300
12	Tractor / Tractor with trailer, Truck 4, 5 & 6 -axle	500	300
15	Truck 7-axle and above	500	300
16	Earth Moving / Heavy Construction Machinery	500	300

Airtel FASTag Recharge

As your Airtel FASTag payment is deducted from your bank wallet, you need to have to recharge your wallet. You can recharge your wallet through debit card, credit card, netbanking and UPI. Your FASTag will automatically block minimum amount required for FASTag to be active.

Airtel FASTag Customer Care Number

If you have any problems regarding FASTag helpline number have been launched by NHAI/IHMCL which will address FASTag complaint at toll plaza level. The FASTag users need to dial 1033 from their phone in case any problem arises. Some of the common problems can be:

Toll Plaza is not accepting your FASTag.
If there is any difficulty in reading the tag at plaza.
Stopped at plaza for blacklisted tag.

In case you have lost your four wheeler and you need to block your FASTag account you can call at these numbers : 400 or 8800688006

Airtel FASTag Delivery Time

Usually it will take 6-8 working days to deliver your FASTag at your address for your 4 wheelers. It will take a maximum of 21 working days to get your FASTag delivered.

Airtel FASTag Status

After you have completed the payment for your FASTag and you need to check where your tag is, you need to visit Airtel Thanks App and click on FASTag banner which will be placed in the rewards section of the app.

How to change Fastag’s mobile number?

No, we cannot change the Fastag mobile number. As the e-mail id and mobile number are registered at the time when the customer is making their Fastag for the first time. However, if the customer wants to change the vehicle registration number (VRN)then they can share their vehicle RC scans.
How to change a Fastag account from one bank to another

It is an easy process to change a FASTag account from one bank to another, you just need to follow the below mentioned steps: 1. If the customer’s Fastag is linked with the Paytm wallet, which is in turn connected with another bank, then he/she can change the bank account and recharge the wallet from the new bank account. 2. However, in case if the customer’s Fastag is linked with the Paytm bank account, then by changing the bank, he/she also needs to cancel the Paytm linked Fastag as well.
What to do with Fastag when selling a car?

If you have sold/transfer your car, you are requested to inform your issuing source or bank and close the account as soon as possible.

How to Recharge Airtel Fastag Through Google pay App

Open your Google Pay application.
From the bottom of your screen, swipe up to find the Fastag.
Click on FASTag Icon and then Make payment.
Choose the FASTag account that you want to send money to.
Enter the Recharge amount.
To confirm, tap the Tick mark.
Complete the payment.