NHAI Likely To Extend Deadline For FASTag KYC Till March End; Here’s Why

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is considering extending the deadline for its ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative by another four weeks.

The original deadline, which was supposed to end on March 1, may be extended to allow Paytm FASTag users to resolve issues related to the recent Paytm Payments Bank crisis, after RBI’s orders.

The ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative aims to prevent the use of one FASTag for multiple vehicles. It was announced earlier this month along with a deadline to complete the KYC process, which would ensure that a single FASTag can be used for one vehicle only. NHAI has announced that Paytm FASTag users who are currently changing their FASTag account from Paytm to some other bank and as a result are facing difficulties in completing the KYC process. Therefore, an extension of the deadline is being considered to allow these users more time to comply with the One Vehicle, One FASTag norm.

According to the RBI’s order, Paytm FASTag users can continue to use their FASTags even after the March 15 deadline, as long as there is sufficient balance in their accounts. However, no further funding or top-ups will be allowed in the FASTags issued by Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. As per PTI, a NHAI official said that, “In view of the Paytm crisis, the FASTAg users may be given more time to shift to one vehicle-one FASTag norm.” Paytm FASTags are the largest in terms of users among all FASTags issued so far, with around eight crore users. FASTag, operated by NHAI, uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to deduct toll charges directly from the FASTag account linked to the user’s bank account.