The highways authority has named nine banks that will facilitate payments at the 247 toll stations where the ‘acquirer’ is Paytm Payments Bank, the entity that was barred from accepting deposits in a regulatory clampdown last month, people aware of the development said.
Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, IDFC First Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are among the nine banks that have been authorised by Indian Highways Management Company Ltd-under National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)–and are being considered for rollover from Paytm Payments Bank, the people cited earlier told ET.
The 247 toll plazas managed by Paytm Payments Bank account for about 14% of the country’s daily national highway toll collection, which is INR 190 crore on average. Here an “acquirer” is a bank or financial institution that processes payments (FASTag) at the toll plazas on behalf of the issuing bank, and also routes them through the payment networks to the issuing bank. NHAI pays the acquirer bank at a toll station 0.13% of the daily collection as programme management fee.
ET’s email query to Paytm Payments Bank remained unanswered till as of press time.
NHAI’s move is aimed at ensuring that toll collection at these gateways is not impacted after March 15-the date from which Paytm Payments Bank, an associate of One 97 Communications, has been ordered by the RBI to stop all basic payment services–a person familiar with the move said.
