Paythru has issued proposed guiding principles to help the charge point sector address current customer pain points.

Paythru has set out a set of proposed guiding principles for all EV charge points

The EV payment specialist has called for cross-industry collaboration on charging payments and set out the following set of proposed guiding principles for all EV charge points:

1. No more confusion over charging costs
2. Standardised and reliable payment methods
3. Minimise payment failures
4. Clarity and transparency in pre-authorisation
5. Simplified transaction and notification processes

Methods for addressing each are proposed in the charter, which can be viewed here.

Keith Brown, Paythru’s managing director, said: “As EV charging has become more mainstream, it has become increasingly apparent that current payment solutions are contributing to a poor user experience. Some issues are due to a lack of common standards and interoperability, while others are caused by variations between chargers, which are fine individually, but confusing as a whole.

“The industry needs to work together to solve these problems and provide a robust and universal charging experience. This will help users trust that wherever they charge their EVs, they can pay in the way they want, ultimately leading to an increase in EV drivers and happier customers.”

Paythru hopes to form a working group with other industry players to refine the charter and present it back to the wider industry as a set of shared principles that all parties believe everyone should sign up to.

Brown remarked: “To create a coherent solution, we all need to work together to agree on the best way to do things for everyone. Our hope is that all charge point operators and charge point management system providers will sign up to this charter, to provide a frictionless and consistent charging experience for EV drivers, no matter where they charge.”

The charter is backed by the REA – the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology – as part of its ongoing mission to accelerate the UK’s transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

Matt Adams, transport policy manager at the REA, says: “We are assured that our members are willing and ready to support Paythru with this charter. We look forward to working with Paythru in the future to make this charter a reality across the UK and inspire other countries too.”

To view the full charter, please click here.