Team-BHP - PayTM FASTag: Are you keeping it or ditching it?

I had a very nice and smooth experience with PayTM Fastag so far, closed my PayTM Fastag by calling and talking to customer support. Realised that recently they had moved their ‘Close Fastag’ option to somewhere else in the menu.

Since I had used ICICI Fastag before and I bank with ICICI, I was trying to get an ICICI Fastag for my vehicle but it gave me an error ‘VRN exists’ and I thought it is because of my PayTM Fastag and initiated the closure. Unfortunately it was from another ICICI Fastag which was lying Active due to some reasons and I couldn’t get the new ICICI Fastag because of that, even after closing PayTM Fastag. Talking to ICICI customer care and few others from ICICI didn’t help and finally I went to an offline store nearby toll booth and got SBI Fastag. PayTM Fastag was blacklisted immediately after raising the closure request. PayTM refund process was smooth and received the balance credited to my PayTM wallet in a week time.

It was smooth process with SBI Fastag and it was activated immediately. It gives SMS alerts for transactions and there is a website to track transaction history. We can check Balance through SMS as well. Couldn’t find an App for SBI Fastag. One issue I faced is the offline store guys charged me for deposit and activation charges, total 600 INR(200 deposit, 200 balance, 100 for Tag, 100 activation ). Later received SMS from SBI stating it has total 200 Rs balance only. Website also doesn’t show any deposit amount.

I requested closure of my Paytm Fastag account on 18th Feb 2024 and i received the refund of Rs.400 today morning without any further follow up with Paytm. After initiating closure request for Fastag, refund ETA of 5 -7 working days was mentioned in Paytm app but still it took so many days for refund and closure. Next, i have applied online for HDFC Fastag and awaiting delivery of the physical tag.

Following is the payment break-up for HDFC Fastag:

Issuance Fee: Rs.100
Security Deposit: Rs.100
Initial Wallet Balance: Rs.50

I drove to Kanchipuram and back from Chennai (04-02-2024) and the toll guys on seeing my Paytm Fastag were good enough to wave me through and didn't demand cash. I tried doing KYC (paytm) through video call and after many tries was rejected because my Aadhar (probably in 2009 or thereabouts) and my PAN (taken in late '80's) names didn't match. They want the exact same name in both Aadhar and PAN :Frustrati. Then I ripped out the Paytm Fastag applied for an SBI Fastag got it and affixed it and it is working. I know that a vehicle can't have 2 Fastags and what I've done is wrong but I was at wits end...

I switched over to ICICI from PayTM. It's a shame that PayTM did not take action on RBI's guidance. It was quite an useful app with PayTM wallet + UPI + UPILite + Savings Bank A/C + FasTag all integrated in one place.

I switched over to ICICI as my prior experience with ICICI FasTag was quite positive! I hope ICICI come up with a concept similar to PayTM and integrate their FasTag with AmazonPay Balance.

Continuing my previous post here

Received the deposit for first tag on 10th day from PayTM without any follow up.

ICICI tag is working fine but received SMS to upload RC. But ICICI Fastag etoll website won't allow RC upload and won't even show this limitation.

Applying second tag for the second car under same CUG wallet is also not possible online. It can only be done in POS. I was going for an function and found out ICICI Regional office nearby (Ambattur estate) is the nodal office for Fastag in Chennai. So visited there and did both the above together easily.

Since I was in a hurry to go the function, I didn't waited to pick up the tag itself and asked them to send the tag. So tag reached next day to my permanent address in Chennai. Without knowing this I initiated closure of my second Paytm fastag and awaiting deposit to be returned.

ICICI etoll app is not good for recharge for wallet or tag as it charges convenience fee even for UPI :Frustrati Use Netbanking to load CUG wallet or tag with ICICI credit card or just UPI to avoid any charges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel (Post 5730344)

I uploaded RC last week.

Steps to upload

I tried the same steps but didn't worked for me. I wasted my time and upon calling customer care, they told to do it in POS. May be they just took the easy way out instead of registering a complaint about their website.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durango Dude (Post 5729935)

I know that a vehicle can't have 2 Fastags and what I've done is wrong but I was at wits end...

No need to worry. The most recently purchased tag will remain active, and the previous one will be automatically blacklisted due to the government’s one-tag policy. This won’t affect anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan (Post 5730354)

No need to worry. The most recently purchased tag will remain active, and the previous one will be automatically blacklisted due to the government’s one-tag policy. This won’t affect anything.

Many thanks, that's reassuring to learn.

I have still not given up my Paytm fastag as nothing comes close to the convenience of fastag linked to a global wallet.

Now if I were to get a HDFC fastag, on which app will I be able to view my deductions/transactions? The HDFC bank app doesn’t seem to have a screen that show the fastag linked under the PAN/user. I couldn’t find anything on HDFC PayZapp app either. There a zillion apps to recharge fastag but is there one place where all the history is available.

Please see the Paytm screenshot I’m referring to. I’m trying to find if HDFC will be able to provide statement like this.

PayTM FASTag: Are you keeping it or ditching it?-img_8317.png

Sharing my early experience with IDFC FASTag:

I have two cars, one in Bangalore and one in my hometown. Recently I opened IDFC savings account and I am really impressed with their agility and app experience.

I had Paytm FASTags for both my cars. With the PayTM fiasco, IDFC is trying to grab the opportunity. They have launched a separate app for FASTag, it’s called FirstForward where you have dashboard, pool account if you have multiple cars, raise dispute etc. Apart from these, they have add on services (trip insurance, fuel payments using the tag etc). I believe they are being smart and creative here.

So, I opted for IDFC FASTags for both my cars, enabled the pool account. Toll for both the cars is paid through the pool account. So far (though it’s very short time) everything seems to be working well. The app is glitch free and works seamlessly. I have not explored the auto recharge yet. Once I gain some more confidence, I will try auto recharge as well.

For me, when I had to make the decision, separate app where you have full control was the biggest factor to opt for IDFC FASTag.

One can download the app to explore all the features before you place the order for the FASTag, which you can do from the app itself.

Hope this helps for the people who are still trying to switch over from PayTM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tud (Post 5731022)

but is there one place where all the history is available.

Yes, you can find the history on the Fastag portal of your tag provider. Here's the link to the HDFC Bank Fastag portal: https://fastag.hdfcbank.com/CustomerPortal/Login

I was also using PayTM but switched to ICICI. They also have a similar portal and an app, eToll, which even includes a map view of the transactions. However, it’s not available on the ICICI bank app or net banking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Selective (Post 5731033)

So, I opted for IDFC FASTags for both my cars, enabled the pool account. Toll for both the cars is paid through the pool account..

Does the pool account work exactly like Paytm wallet balance? I add money to the pool account and all my fastags tolls are automatically deducted from the pool account without any further steps like transferring money to individual tags? Do you need bank savings account with IDFC to have this pool account feature working?

Quote:

Originally Posted by androdev (Post 5731173)

Yes, that’s how the pool account works! And no, you don’t have to have IDFC savings account for pool account or for the tag. I have added the money to pool account from non IDFC bank.

They have another feature where in you can plan your trip (source and destination), it shows the total toll amount for the trip. You can add that amount to the tag or pool account. This is similar to google maps, but it’s nice that they have integrated in the FASTag app. I have not tried this yet.