The governments Department for Transport has announced that all newly installed high powered and rapid EV charge points should allow card payment by spring 2020.
In the announcement the government outlined that it expects the EV charge point industry to create a solution that allows electric car drivers to use any public EV chargepoint via one single payment method. This is to eliminate the need for users to have multiple phone applications or memberships.
The announcement followed the Prime Minister’s commitment that the government would work closely with the industry to build a national network of rapid EV charge points.
Michael Ellis, the Future of Mobility Minister, 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.”
Industry leader BP Chargemaster, the operator of the UK’s largest public EV charge point network, has already committed itself to offering card payements. They plan to fit card payment to all their new rapid EV charge points as well as retrofitting to existing EV chargers within the next 12 months.
CEO of BP Chargemaster, David Newton, Said:
“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.”
Contact Us
Interested in having an EV charge point installed for your home or business? Call us today on 0151 649 8350. Alternatively, you can email us at info@applegarth.co.uk and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible. We install EV charge points in Wirral, Liverpool, Cheshire, Chester & North Wales.
