RBI Eases FASTag And NCMC Payments With Auto-Replenishment Update

The Reserve Bank of India, in its latest development, has announced the inclusion of inclusion of auto-replenishment for FASTag and the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) under its e-mandate framework.

The new update introduced by RBI is aimed at making everyday payments for travellers and commuters across the country a simplified process. Moreover, this move by the central bank is also to address the issue of maintaining balances on these cards.

What is the latest update?

The key highlight of this update is the inclusion of auto-replenishment which means whenever the balance on a FASTag or NCMC card falls below a certain limit set by the customer, it will be automatically topped up without requiring any manual intervention.

Prior to this update, such transactions required customers to receive a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before the actual charge.

However, since these payments are irregular in frequency and essential for smooth travel, the RBI has exempted them from this requirement.

How this recent update will matter to a user?

For instance, if you are driving on a highway and in a certain case your FASTag balance is low, this can lead to delays at toll booths.

But with the recent update, users no longer need to worry in such situations.

The auto-replenishment will maintain sufficient balances at all times. Similarly, for public transport users relying on NCMC, the update offers automatic topping up the card as needed, without any fixed schedule.

The decision to include these payments in the e-mandate framework was first proposed during the RBI’s June Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Despite the introduction of this new feature, all other rules under the e-mandate framework remain unchanged.