Cars banned from toll booths from 1/10 without new transport accounts

From 1/10, car owners who haven't switched their toll accounts to new transport accounts will be barred from using electronic toll booths.

According to Government Decree 119/2024 regarding electronic toll collection on roads, from 1/10, car owners must switch their current toll accounts to transport accounts linked to cashless payment methods. Non-compliant vehicles will be unable to pass through electronic toll collection (ETC) booths.

Trung Luong My Thuan highway toll station, 11/2023. Photo: Hoang Nam

The current toll accounts are solely for topping up and paying road tolls at booths. Transport accounts, however, connect to cashless payment services like e-wallets, bank accounts, or credit cards, enabling payment for services beyond tolls, such as parking, vehicle registration, fuel, and electric vehicle charging.

In essence, the transport account is a cashless payment account linked to an e-wallet or bank account. Users will still need to top up this account to pay for transport services.

To switch, users simply need to use their current ETC app, either VETC or ePass. While specific steps vary between apps, users generally need to authenticate with their chip-based citizen identity card and then link their bank account or e-wallet. The process takes just a few minutes.

Toll account (VETC wallet) and transport account in the VETC app. Screenshot

Currently, the VETC app uses potentially confusing terms. The "TK giao thong" section (transport account) is actually the old "toll account," while "Vi VETC" (VETC wallet) is the new "transport account" as defined by Decree 119. Users must upgrade to "Vi VETC" before 1/10. VETC stated this naming discrepancy arose before the Decree and will be updated soon.

According to Chinhphu.vn, the Vietnam Directorate of Roads reports about 6.3 million vehicles, nearly 100% of the total, use ETC services. However, only about 30% have switched to the new transport accounts, primarily due to lack of awareness. This means roughly 70%, or over 4 million users, still need to make the switch.

The Vietnam Directorate of Roads urges car owners to switch promptly to avoid disruptions and ensure access to ETC lanes from 1/10.

Ho Tan

By VnExpress: https://vnexpress.net/oto-bi-cam-qua-tram-thu-phi-tu-1-10-neu-chua-chuyen-sang-tai-khoan-giao-thong-4925591.html