A new solution that combines parking and EV charging into a single transaction has launched for EV drivers.

The Paythru solution addresses growing user frustration around dealing with multiple payment methods in car parks

Developed by payments technology company Paythru, it addresses growing user frustration around dealing with multiple payment methods in car parks.

Many public and private car parking locations require drivers to pay for a parking ticket as well as initiating and paying for a charging session.

And such chargers and parking spaces are often operated by different companies, with their own payments system.

It’s already led to a growing number of stories of aggrieved EV owners receiving fines because they did not realise that they needed both – as reported in national newspapers.

The new solution takes the headache out of this process, enabling EV drivers to use a single parking and charging tariff at their selected location – and to pay the appropriate fee.

James O’Neill, Paythru’s CEO, commented: “This is the first application for consumers that recognises the need to park and charge. The EV revolution will stall unless we get the customer experience right and no one’s actually addressing this – until now.

“Having previously spent years working at EV charging providers, I have seen the impact of poor user payment experience on customer loyalty.”

When a session is started using Paythru’s Park and Charge technology, the system automatically initiates the EV charge at the connected charge point. It supports both time-based and kWh-based tariffs.

This approach streamlines the consumer experience – and significantly mitigates the risk of penalty charge notices.

Park and Charge is aimed at public sector charge point operators, parking operators who want to install EV functionality on their offering, and fleet and last-mile logistics customers. The solution also supports on and off-street parking options, and it can be connected to parking enforcement companies.

James O’Neill continued: “Instead of building yet another app we’ve built a platform in the cloud. This means parking companies and charging companies just sign up, set their payment terms behind the scenes, and the user has one transparent transaction to pay for everything – which could be either through the car park or their EV charging app. Whatever they choose, we manage the payment split and make sure the parking and charging companies both get paid.”

Paythru can also work with other interested parties – such as high street retailers and those leasing land for EV charging or fleet charging schemes – to integrate multi-party transactions into one simple payment for the EV driver.