Expect to see more public chargers

In many regions, there still are not enough public charging stations to meet demand. Yet opportunities for charging away from home are growing: hundreds of thousands of public charging ports have appeared globally, and the charging market is expected to multiply by seven over the next decade.

Be ready for multiple types of payment methods

Electric vehicle owners should expect to encounter a range of charging payment methods. You may be able to pay with contactless cards at one station and generate payment through an RFID tag or phone app at another. Visa is currently working to better standardise and simplify payments at charging stations. 

Use locator apps to plan your journey

Where are the charging stations along your route? How quickly can you charge? How many kWh will you need? Depending on several factors, charging can take a few minutes—or a few hours. Locator apps can help you find information about nearby stations, including hours of operation, nearby amenities, the number of ports available and how fast the ports can charge.

Deploy a payment terminal

A terminal that accepts Visa ensures that any driver can charge at your station. Contactless payment solutions are particularly attractive options, and they are growing in popularity in part because they cost less to implement and preferred by cardholders.

Understanding of digital payment solutions

Merchants may need to offer digital solutions, such as mobile app payments, at charging stations. These solutions usually require downloading an app or carrying a special tag to make payment. Charging operators with digital solutions should consider adding card-present (e.g. tap to pay) solutions, which foster interoperability and easy payment for a customer who may not have access to an app or tag or have challenges connecting.

Use the correct merchant category code (MCC)

All public charging stations must be classified with MCC 5552 under Visa’s rules. Banks offer fuel and other rewards based on MCC, so using the right code is better for customers and can reduce customer service calls. Under these rules, merchants also offering parking services are permitted to use the MCC that represents the highest sales volume of their business. However, coding sales from charging and parking separately is an even better solution.

Provide a transparent checkout experience

Merchants can pick from several authorisation models when obtaining approval from banks for electric charging transactions. These models are different from those used by petrol fuel stations. 

There are two common models used for electric charging transactions. The first involves estimating a “best-guess” amount and truing up to the final amount later. The second involves using a known amount that is either (a) preselected by the customer or (b) determined by sending authorisation for the exact amount after the charging session has finished. 

If using an estimate (per the first model), Visa recommends that merchants communicate that estimate to customers and assure them that any over-authorization will be reversed. For more questions about authorisation best practices, contact your acquirer. 

Note: European merchants may need to give authorisation models additional consideration to ensure compliance with strong customer authentication (SCA) rules.