All new electric vehicle rapid charge points should provide debit or credit card payment by spring 2020, under a new Government ambition outlined today.
The Government expects industry to develop a roaming solution across the charging network, allowing EV drivers to use any public charge point through a single payment method without needing multiple smartphone apps or membership cards.
The news comes on the same day that BP Chargemaster announced its Polar network will offer contactless bank card payment on all new 50kW and 150kW ultra fast chargers, as well as retrofitting it to all existing 50kW Ultracharge units.
Future of mobility minister Michael Ellis said: “The Government’s vision is for the UK to have one of the best electric vehicle charging networks in the world, but we know the variety of payment methods at the moment is a source of frustration for drivers.
“It is crucial there are easy payment methods available to improve electric vehicle drivers’ experiences and give drivers choice.
”This will help even more people enjoy the benefits electric vehicles bring and speed up our journey to a zero-emission future.”
David Newton, CEO at BP Chargemaster, added: “As the operator of the UK’s largest public charging network, including the greatest number of rapid chargers, we support the Government’s vision for all new rapid and ultra-fast chargers to support contactless bank card payment.
“We will be going one step further, not only by introducing this facility on all new 50kW and 150kW chargers from today, but also by committing to retrofit our existing UK-made rapid chargers with this technology over the next 12 months.”
Government and industry have supported the installation of more than 20,000 publically accessible chargepoints in the UK, including more than 2,000 rapid devices.
There are now more locations where you can charge your car than there are petrol stations.
The Prime Minister last week announced that the Government wants to see the development of a high speed electric vehicle charging infrastructure nationally.
Last month the Government also announced that all Government-funded home charge points installed in the future must be 'smart'.
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Andrew Ryan is the features editor at Fleet News. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and has specialised in the fleet industry for the past 12.
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