Paytm targets issuing five million FASTags in three months. Here's how

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) is in the fast lane of issuing FASTags to vehicle owners across the country and recently informed that it had already managed to equip over five million vehicles with these for enhanced and cashless passage through toll booth across the country. More significantly, Paytm is now looking at issuing another five million FASTags over the course of the next three months.

FASTags have been made mandatory for cashless transactions across all toll booths in the country and promise to save money, time and fuel which would have otherwise been used in taking out, paying and collecting actual currency notes and coins. As such, the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme, the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has been implemented on a pan-India basis in order to remove bottlenecks and ensure seamless movement of traffic and collection of user fee as per the notified rates, using passive radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

A statement issued by PPBL recently informed that it has emerged as the largest facilitator of digital toll payments in the country. It further stated that it has enabled automatic cashless payments at 211 toll plazas across the country and will aims to acquire another 100 toll plazas with the bigger aim of 100 per cent growth in FASTag sales in the next three months.

PPBL informs that to raise awareness and to ensure FASTags are put in more vehicles, it has set up 20,000 camps at toll plazas, residential parking lots, fuel stations and other commercial areas across the country. "We are committed to increasing the adoption of digital toll payments in the country and making road travel seamless and time-efficient for everyone...All our efforts are aligned to boost 'Digital India' mission of our government and encourage cashless payments in our country," PPBL CEO and Managing Director Satish Kumar Gupta said.

It has also begun partnering with car makers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Kia Motors to offer pre-fitted Paytm FASTags at the time of purchase of a new vehicle.

(With inputs from PTI)