FASTags, NCMC payments made easier: RBI announces auto-replenishment facility

In the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, the Reserve Bank of India, Friday 7th June, announced recurring payments for Fastag, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), etc. with an auto-replenishment facility under the e-mandate framework.

The current e-mandate framework requires a pre-debit notification at least a 24-hours before the actual debit from the customer’s account. It is proposed to exempt this requirement for payments made from customers’ accounts for automatic replenishment of balances in Fastag, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), etc. under the e-mandate framework. The major advantage of auto-replenishment is that you don’t have to add money manually for each recharge.

Under the e-mandate framework, it is now proposed to introduce an automatic replenishment facility for such payments like replenishment of balances in Fastag, NCMC, etc. which are recurring in nature but without any fixed periodicity, into the e-mandate framework. These categories of payments are made as and when needed; therefore, their replenishment is not time-specific or amount-specific. The automatic replenishment will be triggered when the balance in Fastag or NCMC falls below the threshold set by the customer. Currently, the framework for processing e-Mandate for recurring transactions enables recurring payments with fixed periodicity such as daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

The new framework is expected to enhance convenience in making travel/mobility-related payments. “Necessary guidelines in respect of the above proposals will be issued shortly,” said RBI.