Public EV charging creates a different payment environment from an ordinary shop or ecommerce transaction.
The charge point operator may need to connect a physical payment terminal, charge point management system (CPMS), merchant acquiring, payment gateway or PSP, pricing data and charging-session information into one reliable payment flow.
UK public charge point rules also place specific requirements on qualifying charge points around contactless payment, ad-hoc access, pricing transparency, payment roaming and reliability.
For charge point operators, the payment decision should therefore go beyond simply choosing a card terminal. The complete setup needs to consider terminal hardware, acquiring, CPMS integration, pre-authorisation, settlement, transaction costs, connectivity, reconciliation and customer experience.
How do EV charging payments work?
The exact payment journey depends on the charge point, CPMS and payment provider.
A typical card-payment journey may involve:
- The driver selects a charge point or connector.
- The payment terminal receives the card or contactless payment credential.
- The payment request is passed through the payment infrastructure.
- The card issuer decides whether to authorise the transaction.
- The charging session begins.
- The CPMS or charging infrastructure records the energy supplied and session information.
- The final transaction value is calculated.
- The appropriate amount is completed or captured through the payment provider.
- The transaction and charging session are reconciled.
Some EV charging payment models use a pre-authorisation before the charging session begins because the final transaction value is not yet known.
The precise authorisation and completion process varies by payment provider and implementation.
A driver does not necessarily need to tap their card again at the end of every charging session. That depends on the payment solution.
Who is involved in an EV charging payment?
Several different organisations and technologies may be involved.
Charge Point Operator (CPO)
The CPO operates the charging infrastructure and is normally responsible for the customer-facing charging experience.
Payment terminal
The physical terminal accepts the customer's card or contactless payment credential.
Charge Point Management System (CPMS)
The CPMS manages charging sessions and can provide information such as charge point status, pricing, energy consumed and session data.
Payment Service Provider or gateway
The payment provider provides the technology required to route and manage the payment transaction.
Acquirer
The acquirer provides the merchant acquiring relationship that enables the charge point operator to accept card payments.
Card scheme and issuer
The card scheme provides the network over which the card transaction is routed, while the customer's issuing bank ultimately approves or declines the authorisation request.
Some providers combine several of these functions within one commercial or technical solution.
For a wider explanation of payment infrastructure, see our Payment Gateways guide.
UK contactless payment requirements for EV charging
The Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 introduced specific payment requirements for publicly accessible EV charging in the UK.
The contactless requirements include:
- new public charge points of 8kW and above within the scope of the regulations;
- public rapid charge points of 50kW and above;
- contactless payment available without requiring the driver to have a pre-existing contract with the charge point operator; and
- acceptance of contactless bank cards.
Apple Pay or Google Pay can also be supported, but mobile wallets alone are not a substitute for accepting contactless bank cards where the contactless requirement applies.
Charge point operators should check the regulations and official guidance against their specific network because the rules contain definitions, scope provisions and exemptions.
Can one payment terminal serve several EV charge points?
Yes.
A charge point operator does not necessarily need to install an individual contactless reader on every charger.
Government guidance allows contactless payment to be provided at charging-site level where several charge points are located in close proximity.
This opens up several possible architectures.
Terminal on each charge point
Each charger has its own payment terminal.
This can create a straightforward driver experience but increases the number of terminals that need to be installed, connected, maintained and supported.
Shared payment terminal
One terminal or kiosk can enable customers to pay for several nearby charge points.
The customer may select the relevant charger before beginning the payment and charging session.
This can reduce terminal hardware requirements, but the CPMS and payment integration need to ensure that the payment is associated with the correct charging session.
Payment terminals integrated directly with the charger
One architecture places the payment terminal on or within the physical charge point.
The terminal and charger communicate as part of the individual charging installation.
Potential advantages include:
- clear customer journey;
- payment directly associated with a specific charger;
- less ambiguity about which charge point the driver is paying for; and
- a familiar contactless experience.
However, deploying large numbers of individual terminals can increase:
- hardware cost;
- connectivity requirements;
- maintenance;
- software management;
- terminal estate management; and
- payment reporting complexity.
Payment terminals integrated with a CPMS
Another approach connects the payment environment more closely with the charge point management system.
The CPMS can help coordinate information about:
- the selected charger;
- charging-session start and end;
- energy consumed;
- tariff information;
- transaction references;
- charger status;
- session completion; and
- reconciliation.
A shared terminal may then serve several charge points at one site.
For operators with larger networks, the ability to connect payment and charging-session data centrally can be particularly important.
Where significant technical integration is required, read our Payment API Integration guide.
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Why EV charging payments may use pre-authorisation
In many ordinary retail transactions, the merchant knows exactly how much the customer needs to pay before requesting payment.
EV charging can be different.
At the start of the session, the operator may not know how much energy the customer will consume or how long the vehicle will charge.
A payment solution can therefore use a pre-authorisation to check the card before allowing the charging session to start.
Once the session ends, the actual charge is calculated and the payment process completes according to the provider's implementation.
Charge point operators should establish:
- how much is pre-authorised;
- how that amount appears to the customer;
- how the final transaction is completed;
- what happens where the final charge exceeds the initial amount;
- how unused authorisation amounts are released;
- how long releases can take to appear to customers;
- how failed authorisations are handled; and
- how the transaction is reconciled against the charging session.
These details can have a significant effect on customer experience.
EV charging pricing and p/kWh requirements
Public charging payment infrastructure also needs to support the pricing information shown to drivers.
Under the Public Charge Point Regulations, the maximum price a customer could be charged for a public charging session must be clearly displayed in pence per kilowatt hour or pounds per kilowatt hour before charging begins.
Where relevant fixed charging fees apply, these must be reflected within the maximum p/kWh price shown to the customer under the regulations.
This makes pricing integration important.
The CPMS, payment platform and customer-facing display should not operate as completely disconnected systems where this creates inconsistent pricing information.
Dynamic pricing for EV charging
Some operators may vary tariffs based on factors such as:
- time of day;
- site;
- charger type;
- membership;
- demand; or
- other commercial pricing rules.
The payment and CPMS environment needs to know which tariff applies to the charging session.
UK guidance permits dynamic and off-peak pricing, but the amount charged must not exceed the maximum price displayed to the customer before the session begins.
Contactless payment versus app payments
Charge point operators can offer several different ways to pay.
These can include:
- contactless debit or credit card;
- Apple Pay;
- Google Pay;
- a charging-network app;
- RFID;
- roaming through an e-mobility service provider; and
- fleet payment arrangements.
These methods do not necessarily replace one another.
For qualifying public charge points, contactless needs to provide ad-hoc payment without forcing the customer to create an account or enter into a pre-existing contract with the operator.
An app or RFID-based experience can still be offered alongside it.
Payment roaming for EV charging
Payment roaming allows drivers to use a payment service across multiple charging networks rather than maintaining a separate relationship with every charge point operator.
Under the Public Charge Point Regulations, charge point operators within scope must connect public charge points to at least one third-party roaming provider.
This may involve:
- an e-mobility service provider;
- a clearing house;
- an external roaming network; or
- another qualifying third-party arrangement.
Contactless card acceptance and payment roaming solve different problems.
Contactless provides ad-hoc card payment.
Roaming enables a customer to use a compatible app or RFID service across different charging networks.
EV charging payment connectivity
Connectivity is particularly important because the payment service is operating alongside physical charging infrastructure.
The operator needs to understand what happens if:
- the payment terminal loses connectivity;
- the charger remains online but the payment service does not;
- the CPMS becomes unavailable;
- the acquiring or PSP service is temporarily unavailable;
- the terminal cannot complete an authorisation; or
- one component of a shared-terminal charging site fails.
A payment terminal that works well in a traditional retail environment is not automatically the right solution for an unattended charging network operating continuously.
Resilience, remote monitoring and support should therefore be considered alongside transaction price.
Payment terminal reliability matters to the charging network
Payment-terminal availability is not simply a back-office issue.
If a driver arrives at a qualifying public charger and the required contactless payment route is unavailable, the driver may be unable to start a session.
Government guidance therefore treats required contactless payment terminals as part of the functioning charge point when assessing reliability in relevant circumstances.
Operators should consider:
- terminal uptime;
- remote diagnostics;
- replacement procedures;
- software updates;
- SIM or network resilience;
- helpdesk support;
- fallback payment journeys; and
- how faults are reported to the CPMS.
Reconciling EV charging payments
One of the more complex parts of EV payment processing is matching card transactions with charging sessions.
The operator may need to reconcile:
- terminal transaction ID;
- charger or EVSE;
- charging-session ID;
- start and end time;
- energy delivered;
- price per kWh;
- pre-authorisation;
- final transaction value;
- refunds;
- chargebacks;
- settlement amount; and
- merchant processing fees.
At small scale this may be manageable manually.
Across hundreds or thousands of charging sessions, good integration and reporting become much more important.
This is where the relationship between the CPMS and payment provider can have a significant operational impact.
Multi-site EV charging networks
A charge point operator managing several sites may want one payment environment across the network.
Requirements may include:
- central acquiring;
- multiple merchant IDs;
- site-level reporting;
- central reconciliation;
- different tariffs by site;
- shared terminal management;
- fleet payments;
- roaming;
- international card acceptance;
- central refund management; and
- network-wide transaction monitoring.
The operator should decide which functions belong in the CPMS and which belong within the payment-provider environment before selecting the technical architecture.
Our Integrated Payments guide covers many of the same issues businesses face when payment systems need to communicate with operational software.
What does EV charging card processing cost?
The total cost can contain several components.
These may include:
- merchant service charges;
- interchange;
- card scheme fees;
- gateway or PSP fees;
- authorisation charges;
- terminal purchase or rental;
- SIM or connectivity costs;
- terminal-management charges;
- CPMS integration;
- software costs;
- refund charges;
- chargeback fees; and
- support and maintenance.
This is why a low headline transaction percentage does not necessarily mean the lowest total cost.
EV charging operators should model fees against their actual expected transaction profile.
Why fixed transaction charges matter for EV charging
The relationship between fixed and percentage-based processing charges can be important where the network has a large number of relatively small transactions.
For example, a fixed pence-per-transaction charge represents a larger proportion of a £4 transaction than a £40 transaction.
Operators should therefore model:
- average charging-session value;
- number of sessions;
- card mix;
- consumer versus commercial cards;
- domestic versus international cards;
- fixed authorisation fees;
- percentage processing fees; and
- any additional gateway or platform charges.
This gives a more realistic comparison between providers.
Security and PCI DSS for EV charging payments
Card-payment security needs to form part of the design from the beginning.
The precise PCI DSS responsibilities depend on the payment architecture and the way cardholder data is handled.
Operators should establish:
- which organisation controls the payment terminal;
- whether cardholder data enters the CPMS environment;
- which systems are within PCI scope;
- how encryption is handled;
- how terminals are managed remotely;
- how software and firmware are updated;
- how suspected terminal tampering is handled; and
- which party is responsible for each compliance requirement.
Reducing unnecessary exposure of the wider charging platform to card data can simplify the payment architecture.
What should an EV charge point operator compare between payment providers?
Before choosing a provider, document the complete charging and payment journey.
Then compare:
- EV charging and unattended-terminal experience;
- merchant acquiring;
- terminal compatibility;
- CPMS compatibility;
- API capability;
- pre-authorisation functionality;
- contactless card acceptance;
- Apple Pay and Google Pay;
- multi-terminal and multi-site support;
- international cards;
- settlement times;
- transaction pricing;
- fixed per-transaction costs;
- refunds;
- chargeback handling;
- reporting;
- reconciliation;
- terminal monitoring;
- connectivity;
- support;
- PCI responsibilities; and
- the total cost of the solution.
For a large charging network, technical compatibility and operational reliability may be at least as important as the headline acquiring rate.
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Choosing a payment solution for EV charging
Start with the charging journey rather than the name of the payment provider.
Map:
driver arrives → selects charger → sees tariff → presents payment method → authorisation takes place → charging session starts → energy is delivered → session ends → final payment is completed → payment and charging data are reconciled
Then establish:
- how many charge points are involved;
- whether they are publicly accessible;
- which contactless requirements apply;
- whether one terminal or several terminals are required;
- which CPMS is being used;
- how payment information needs to integrate;
- how pre-authorisation will work;
- how pricing is displayed;
- what happens if connectivity fails;
- how transactions will be reconciled; and
- what reporting the operator needs.
That gives payment providers a much clearer specification and makes it easier to compare suitable acquiring and payment solutions.
Merchant Advice Service helps businesses understand their payment requirements before introducing them to payment providers that may be suitable.
Sources & References
About Merchant Advice Service
Merchant Advice Service (MAS) provides independent information, comparison and provider-matching support for UK businesses looking for payment services.
We help businesses understand their payment requirements before introducing them to providers that may be suitable. MAS does not provide payment processing services directly.
Disclosure: Merchant Advice Service may receive commission from payment providers following a successful introduction. This does not increase the price paid by the merchant and does not determine which providers are included in our editorial guidance.
