Reading Time: 2 minutes

As India moves towards smart systems like smart parking, lighting, etc., several businesses are trying to make their services digitally available to customers. In line with this goal, the payment platform Paytm plans to roll out a FASTag based parking service throughout the country. This company has already launched its first FASTag-based parking facility in Delhi by collaborating with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Image

Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) will process all the transactions for FASTag-based parking garages within the country. They will also facilitate two-wheeler FASTag transactions through UPI payment.

Using FAStag-based parking will eliminate the need to stop and pay cash while exiting parking garages. Additionally, Paytm Payments Bank DMRC manager Mangu Singh has called this enterprise a “step towards digitalization” and that “contactless transactional methods are the need of the hour.”

A seamless process through FASTag based parking service and Paytm

FASTag is an electronic toll collection system operated by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The government has made it mandatory for all vehicles to use FASTag stickers for smooth movements across toll plazas. It ensures a quick flow of traffic, saving both time and fuel.

Also Read: IoT and Payments: A New Normal of Touchless Connected Experiences

With the successful implementation of FASTags across India, two and four-wheeler drivers and riders will no longer wait in a queue to pay cash. Smart payment collection systems, assisted by Paytm, will instantly deduct parking fees from their account linked with FASTag.

In a statement, Paytm announced, “PPBL will digitalize parking facilities across the country with Kashmere Gate metro station being the first one to be powered by the bank’s digital payment solution.”

The parking lot service at Kashmere Gate currently offers space for 55 four-wheelers and 174 two-wheelers. The statement also informed that only the vehicles with FASTag stickers would be permitted to park at this facility.

Work in progress

Paytm’s PPBL is currently working with several municipal corporations and parking facility owners across India to enable a secure and cashless transaction method through FASTag. It also discusses the implementation possibility of this digital payment solution at hospitals, airports, and shopping malls.

With its aim to expand effortless payment solutions, PPBL has become India’s largest issuer of FASTags, with over one crore issuance still June2021. It allows users to directly make FASTag transactions through the Paytm wallet. Already, over 280 toll plazas across the country make use of Paytm’s payment gateway.

Parting thoughts

In a nutshell, Paytm is working continuously to enable FASTag-based parking facilities at organized and unorganized sites to offer efficient parking services to all. This initiative will relieve commuters traveling to and from some of the busiest localities during peak hours. It will also promote faster and transparent transactions along with a hassle-free traveling experience for the Indian citizenry.