TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ The launch of automatic toll collection tags is a matter of cheer for those travelling on national highways, with the substantial cut in waiting time at toll plazas. Launched in 2016, the government’s project to automate all toll collection through radio frequency tags — termed FASTags — is shifting gear. The government has made it mandatory for every new four-wheeler vehicle to have a tag from this December.
The project, anchored by National Highways Authority of India, in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India, is gaining momentum. Big banks such as ICICI and non-bank entities like Paytm have also entered the arena. According to estimates provided by a payments processor, Worldline, which works on FASTag implementation with eight banks, a little more than 1.5 million tags have been issued already — 800,000 in the past four months. Revenue collection through FASTag clocked a cumulative Rs 25 billion last month.
“It’s very encouraging to see the pick-up in FASTag volumes. The industry is embracing the idea and entities are working hard to ensure highest possible adoption,” said Vishal Maru, head of merchant services and digital services at Worldline. As part of the rollout, he adds, banks are aligning with different partners.
