Bought an IDFC FASTag in place of PayTM: Why I feel it's the best

To the best of my knowledge, most banks launch the service but the customer support leave a lot to be desired. Most of them do not invest much for the interface or customer support and it leaves us hanging in air when we least expect.

BHPian sharanvenu recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So after using FASTags from 4 different providers, I have now managed to find the one that ticks all my requirement boxes. I have now brought all the cars in the household under one account which is managed by a single pool account with IDFC FASTag.

My first experience was with HDFC and it was by far the worst. I used this during the initial days of the introduction of FASTags and I hope it might have improved. Back when I was using (2020-2021), I faced difficulty twice after I recharged just before starting the journey and it took half a day to reflect in the account and I ended up paying cash for tolls. I tried reaching out to the customer care and found it unresponsive or did not get any resolution other than waiting out for the issue to resolve. There was no app and due to some reason was not able to recharge through GPay. Ended up stopping the service and getting another FASTag.

Second was an NHAI FASTag and it works! But that's pretty much about it! No fizz and no frills! If I had just one car in the household, this would be my pick. Its bank neutral and comes with its own app which is optional. You can just live with any UPI App and manage this pretty much.

Third was PayTM and I had actually brought the majority of the cars under this before we were forced to switch. Got fantastic service from day one and till the day I closed and deactivated the account. Got the full refund in wallet today. App is good enough, the 250 Rupees reserved FASTag balance is a fantastic idea, the wallet can be used for chai sutta etc. And it worked every single time and couple of duplicate deductions got sorted out without any intervention under 4 Hours. I would have continued using this had not they discontinued their service.

When I got a new car last year, I was adamant about getting a PayTM FASTag itself because of my earlier experience.

To the best of my knowledge, most banks launch the service but the customer support leave a lot to be desired. Most of them do not invest much for the interface or customer support and it leaves us hanging in air when we least expect.

Due to some last minute changes and my schedule and procrastination, the PayTM FASTag did not happen and the dealer ended up giving me an IDFC FASTag. Now I wasn't expecting something exceptional. I used it without an app and without even logging in to their portal once, just recharging through GPay. I realized my pre-assumption was very wrong when I was researching to find a replacement for my PayTM FASTags.

The interface was comprehensive and was very easy to navigate. I stumbled upon a feature called pool account and I realized that I will be able to bring all my cars under one account and not worry about individual tag balances. And I just have to recharge when the pool account balance is low. There is also an option to auto recharge which I do not prefer. So now there is just a pool account which I maintain funded and individual tag balances are shown as Zero. Whenever a tag is used, the balance is directly drawn from the pool account. I find this very useful for my management. There is also an option to manually adjust/redistribute balance among the tags, but AutoPay Pool account works for me.

The initial cost is a bit steep at 550 Rs which comes with an additional premium service known as FASTag MAX which can be opted out any time. I plan to discontinue the extra service closer to the renewal date as most aspects are covered by my insurance.

Activation(RC + DL + Common Phone Number), delivery were superfast and it was delivered by courier in less than a day. Also, I tried calling the customer care just to try out the response with some noob question and I was fully satisfied. All in all, I am very happy at the moment with the current setup. I hope this will be helpful for the folks in the same situation as me.

Cheers!

Here's what BHPian fazalmirza had to say on the matter:

You are the man! I will try IDFC now

I tried shifting to Airtel but the situation seemed very precarious. I ordered one Fastag but I feel like cancelling out of it. They have absolutely zero grievance resolution on the app. I did not try calling them. I typically avoid calling customer service.

Here's what BHPian Yeildway17 had to say on the matter:

I decided to go with IDFC after Paytm but I was unable to figure out how to sign-up without Fastag Max program and hence dropped it. But looks like I could have opted out after I signed up.

At around the same time I dropped the plan for IDFC, Amazon app showed an ad for Amazon Pay ICICI Fastag with 1% cashback for Prime members. I decided to try applying for it and it went through without even asking to upload any kind of ID or Vehicle RC proofs. Not sure I will be asked to do KYC later or they just took Amazon Pay KYC (which I'm a heavy user of).

I was issued a new Customer ID by ICICI and the tag showed up in Amazon and ICICI eToll app after a day. The tag was supposed to be delivered by 5-7 days but yet to get any dispatch notification after 3 full days. But the tag is active and loaded. Total cost was 500 Rs - 100 for tag + 200 security deposit + 200 amount loaded to the tag.

Ironically I dropped IDFC because of them asking for 550 Rs. including Fastag Max which is not much of a difference from Amazon Pay ICICI and has additional RSA and insurance benefits. I was just skeptical of how to opt out of the program.

Anyway, now to wait for the ICICI tag to arrive.

Here's what BHPian i10_sanjay had to say on the matter:

I am also using the IDFC fastag after cancelling the Paytm fastag. I have a bank account which had very good support, so I thought to give the fastag a try. Their customer support is very good, they picked up the call in less than 30 seconds.

I got the tag from nearby toll for ₹350, so didn't have the max service signed up automatically. So far, the experience has been really good.

On the contrary, they also have tied up with Park+ which has the worst customer support. No option to even call them. Only option is to mail them and wait patiently hoping they would resolve the problem. And the delivery took their own sweet time, didn't get the tag even after a week of ordering it. So, ₹300 went down the drain. But I'm happy I didn't have to deal with them everytime I had an issue. Narrow escape!

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