Commentary

EV adoption: Open payment systems can make it happen

To drive EV adoption, the government should focus on more than infrastructure and physical accessibility. It needs to focus on seamless payments to ease the transition both for drivers and charge point operators.

Image: Adobe Stock.

June 12, 2023 | by Carly Furman, Nayax LLC

The Biden-Harris Administration has committed to investing $7.5 billion in EV charging with an additional $10 billion in clean transportation and over $7 billion in EV battery components, minerals, and materials. This will help encourage EV adoption and ensure that 50% of new car sales will be electric by 2030.

The plan is to deploy 500,000 new EV charging stations across the U.S. over the next five years. This ambitious plan is meant to address the insufficient existing EV charging infrastructure that has impeded EV adoption because of range anxiety and other concerns.

Currently, there are about 53,000 public charging stations in the U.S. with 140,000 individual charging points. In order to achieve the planned EV growth, this number will need to increase to 1.2 billion.

Growing at this rate is a challenge because getting a charging station up and running can take anywhere between nine to 24 months. This is why this infrastructure bill is so important.

Without funding, EV charging capabilities and improvements to the electrical grid would not be possible, especially in underserved communities.

How will drivers pay?

However, lack of infrastructure is not the only issue that EV drivers face. On top of range anxiety, drivers face the challenge of how to pay.

Currently, the accepted industry standard involves drivers having to download proprietary apps for each charging station they find on the road. These apps may include a membership fee that drivers have to pay to be able to use that specific charger. This can be a deterrent for those who are reluctant to download additional apps, possibly only for one-time use. This also forces users on the road to sign up with unfamiliar companies who may charge monthly or annual subscription fees on top of payment for a charge.

Ideally EV drivers would be able to simply pay with their credit card as they would for gas. Instead they are forced to sign up on several different platforms in order to ensure that they won't get stuck without a charge.

The solution to this challenge is simple: offering an open payment system that enables EV drivers to pay for charging with their preferred payment method, worry-free. This would not only provide a simpler experience, but would ease adoption and help EV charging companies become more profitable.

This is a key consideration that the U.S. government must keep in mind when rolling out EV chargers. Charging stations must include open payment systems in order to encourage EV adoption and the industry's growth.

Ease of payment possible

Payment should be the least of drivers' issues. It should be easy, seamless and have a clear process, just like performing any other transaction.

Beyond the ease of payment, customers also want the freedom to choose how they pay and to whom they pay without being forced into a subscription. This not only brings benefits to the drivers, but also to the operator.

If EV chargers come with embedded payment solutions, this can create a smooth and robust transfer of data, giving operators a 360-degree view of their sales and the opportunity to implement loyalty programs.

In order to drive widespread EV adoption, the U.S. government should focus on more than just infrastructure and physical accessibility. The focus also needs to be on easy, seamless payments to ease the transition both for drivers and for charge point operators.