Charging an electric car will soon get a little easier as new fast chargers must offer people the possibility to pay with their bank cards – meaning a specific charging card is no longer needed, states a European rule that takes effect today.
People with an electric car get a charging card and/or an app from a mobility provider, and people who do not want to be limited to one, quickly accumulate three or four passes, usually with varying rates. In Belgium, an estimated 100 types of passes are available, VRT reports.
However, the European Union would like to move towards more transparency and more uniformity in the electric mobility market. From now on, new quick chargers must have a terminal where you can clients with a bank card, just as they pay when filling up with petrol or diesel.
Fast chargers are the charging stations usually seen along motorways or at supermarkets, with a capacity of more than 50 kW (kilowatts). The obligation to provide a payment terminal only applies to installations from 13 April 2024, although some operators already offered that option as standard in recent years. Existing charging stations must be adapted by 2027.
QR codes?
A transparency obligation also applies: on new fast chargers, the price must also be visible on the charging station's screen, so that customers know what the charge will cost them.
However, these fast chargers still only make up a small share of the total supply of charging stations. Most installations, and certainly the charging in city centres, have a capacity of less than 50 kW – meaning they are not covered by this new obligation.
However, new 'regular' charging installations must now also offer the possibility of charging with a charge card. Yet, the operator is not obliged to provide a payment terminal there. What is required is a QR code, which leads the customer to an electronic platform – meaning they still have to take an intermediate step before making a connection with their bank card.
It is expected that most people will find this procedure too convoluted, and that charging at a 'regular' charging station will still be done with a charging card.
