Paytm account for highway toll charges

Paytm accounts can now be used to pay toll charges too. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Paytm recently signed a partnership deal to this effect. The ministry’s existing radiofrequency tags will be utilized for the cashless transactions.

Building on FASTag that the NHAI had introduced early this year, it began its cashless drive with the online payments platform. FASTag is a device that uses radio frequency identification technology for making toll payments directly from a prepaid account linked to it. It is fixed to the windscreen of vehicles and enables people to drive through toll plazas. The Paytm FASTag will now allow commuters to pass through 350 toll plazas on 55,000Km of NHAI roads without the need to stop.

FASTag has a validity of five years. A commuter who purchases a FASTag needs to top-up the credit in it as per requirement. Paytm aims to collect over Rs 1,800 crore in toll charges in the coming months, the company said.

The ministry of road transport and highways recently deployed a similar RFID tag for container at sea ports too.