If you’re a charge point operator in the UK, no doubt you’ve heard about the new contactless payment requirements coming into effect in November of 2024. If you haven’t started planning for this change, it’s time to think about how you’re going to adapt your business in order to comply with these new requirements.
Lucky for you, there are multiple ways to do this: you can retrofit your charge points, replace them with new ones that meet the requirements, or combine both approaches in the way that best meets your network’s needs.
Keep in mind that there are different ways to retrofit your charge points in order to make sure drivers can pay on the spot: Your payment terminals can be either embedded in your charge points at the manufacturer level or you can use cloud integration to make sure you have on-site contactless payment without any hardware modifications.
Here are some more details about your options:
1. Retrofit Your Existing Charge Points with Cloud Integration
While embedded payment devices have their advantages, it’s important to remember they do require hardware integration. So if you already have public charge points and want to add contactless payment devices for on-site payments, you can use cloud integration as a simple, smooth way to retrofit your charge points.
How can you retrofit your charge points using cloud integration for on-site payment?
Payment terminals using cloud integration are generally located on a pole or wall near the charging station rather than embedded in it and can be used for more than one charging station at the same site.
Methods for facilitating charge point payments through the cloud include using a proprietary cloud API or a global EV protocol such as Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI).
If you’re in the UK: Book a meeting with Nayax Energy’s UK charge point specialist John Gerval for a free consultation about which type of cloud integration would work best for your charge point network.
If you’re outside the UK: Fill out the form on this page for a free consultation about what would work best for the charge point network in your region.
2. Acquire New Charge Points
Another option is to replace your existing charge points with ones that enable drivers to use contactless payments or to acquire new charge points to expand your network, ensuring that as you grow, any new charge points comply with legal regulations and meet EV driver preferences for card payments from the get-go.
When choosing your charging stations, note that you have two options:
Charge Points with an Embedded Point-of-Sale Device
These charge points can be purchased directly from the manufacturer with the embedded payment device already included so that you don’t have to look for a standalone payment terminal as well.
Charge Points with Cloud Integration to a Payment Device
Cloud integration for EV charging payment does not require hardware changes, and payment devices integrated with your charge point network through the cloud can often be used for more than one charging station at the same site.
3. Combined Approach
For charge point operators who need to retrofit existing charge points to make sure they enable contactless payments by Nov. 24 and who also want to expand their network by adding new charge points, a combined approach may be best.
What would this look like?
Some charge point operators may want to retrofit existing charge points using cloud integration for on-site payment, while acquiring new charge points with embedded payments. Other charge point operators may choose to use cloud integrations for their entire network, both when retrofitting existing charge points and when acquiring new ones.
If you’re in the UK: Book a meeting with Nayax Energy’s UK charge point specialist John Gerval for a free consultation about which type of cloud integration would work best for your charge point network.
If you’re outside the UK: Fill out the form on this page for a free consultation about what would work best for the charge point network in your region.
