The NETC FASTag portability solution was launched by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. OneTag is a joint initiative of Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), promoted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Currently, a FASTag user who wants to change the issuer bank has to close the existing FASTag and go through a fresh onboarding process to get a new tag. Under OneTag, the user can retain the FASTag already affixed to the vehicle and switch to another issuer bank.
After successful portability, the existing Tag ID and vehicle registration number will remain unchanged. The selected issuer bank will then provide services linked to the existing tag.
How will FASTag portability work?
The OneTag service will be available through the NHAI’s Rajmargyatra mobile app. The app will guide users through eligibility checks, verification, customer consent, selection of the preferred issuer bank and onboarding.
The existing issuer bank will handle verification and matters relating to the previous wallet, including refunds and pending transactions. The new issuer bank will complete the onboarding process after the portability request is successfully processed.
For FASTag users, this means changing the issuer bank will no longer necessarily require removing the existing tag from the vehicle and obtaining a replacement.
NPCI will provide the central technology framework for portability and update the issuer details in the NETC system. Toll plazas and acquirers will continue processing transactions through the existing NETC framework.
Why does this matter for FASTag users?
OneTag gives FASTag users greater flexibility to choose or change their issuer bank without replacing the physical tag. It also reduces the need for repeated tag issuance and reissuance when a user changes the issuer.
The initiative comes as FASTag has become the dominant electronic toll collection mechanism in India. According to the announcement, more than 13 crore NETC FASTags have been issued, of which around 6 crore are active, with penetration above 98%.
For consumers, the key change is therefore portability of the existing FASTag across issuer banks, rather than a change to how toll payments themselves are processed.
