Electric vehicle charging network Mer now available on Zap-Pay

Mer is the latest electric vehicle (EV) charging network to go live on Zap-Pay, which allows drivers to pay for EV charging across a series of networks from Zap-Map.

Mer and Zap-Map had previously signed an agreement to include Mer in the Zap-Pay partner network.

As of last week, Zap-Map has begun rolling out Zap-Pay across Mer’s network of rapid and fast chargers at locations such as public and retail car parks, with more than 120 charge points already live on Zap-Map’s payment service.

The remaining Mer chargers will continue to become Zap-Pay enabled over the coming days and weeks.

Alex Earl, commercial director at Zap-Map, said: “As a nationwide charging provider with charge points at convenient locations such as car parks, Mer is a valuable addition to the Zap-Pay partner network who will make paying for destination charging that bit easier for Zap-Map users.

“What’s more, thanks to our users, we know that EV drivers want simple solutions to what is currently a complex puzzle. So now more than ever, as electric vehicles approach the mainstream, we need to make sure paying for charging is as simple as possible.

“With this in mind, I’m delighted to say that usage of Zap-Pay has continued to increase significantly, and I look forward to seeing this trend accelerate with Mer now live on Zap-Pay.”

The Mer network – which is the fifth to go live on the cross-network payment service – joins live Zap-Pay partners Osprey, ESB Energy, char.gy and GeniePoint.

The completed integration will mean that a total of almost 3,000 charging devices across the UK are Zap-Pay enabled.

Zap-Map users can now pay for their EV charging on all five networks up and down the UK, as well as being able to search for charge points, plan longer journeys, and share updates with other EV drivers.

More integrations and announcements around Zap-Pay are to follow over the coming weeks and months.

Mer is a European EV charging provider owned by Statkraft, Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy. In England, the company operates a network of around 600 fast and rapid public chargers, stretching from Cumbria to Dorset.

Where they provide the electricity, Mer public charge points are powered by 100% traceable renewable energy, and the company’s aim is to make sustainable electric mobility easy and accessible to everyone.

The charging provider recently strengthened its UK presence with the acquisition of Elmtronics, now rebranded as Mer, which supplies and installs EV charge points for workplaces and fleets. This acquisition allows the company to support the commercial sector in its transition to electrification, it said.

Alex Hinchcliffe, managing director at Mer UK – public charging, said: “Interoperability is absolutely fundamental to facilitate the uptake of electric vehicles.

“Integration with Zap-Pay further simplifies the public electric vehicle charging journey, allowing users to plan, navigate, charge and pay in one place. This is core to Mer’s customer centric approach.”

As a single-app payment system that uses a credit or debit card to pay for charging, Zap-Pay was launched with a mission to include all the key charge point networks across the UK.