Payments giant, Visa calls for standardised payments in electric vehicle charging

Visa (NYSE: V) is launching a call to standardise the systems for seamless,
interoperable payments in electric vehicle (EV) charging points across
Europe. The company believes that the European EV charging industry should
commit to providing consumers with the freedom to pay with their chosen
method – primarily by adopting open-loop and interoperable payments.

At present, there is no widespread industry standard for payment acceptance
at EV charging points. This leads to a system where consumers across Europe
often do not have a choice of payment method and are forced into a single
option (for example, signing up to an app or provider programme) or even
face not being able to charge their vehicle because they aren’t registered
with the required subscription service. Only a small number of European
countries, such as Germany, have legislated for a standardised approach.

To assist with making progress for consumers on this issue, Visa is
launching a consultation with EV charging point manufacturers and other
industry leaders to identify barriers and solutions to the widespread
acceptance of interoperable contactless and digital payments.

Visa has also announced it will become the first company from the financial
services and payments industries to join the Charging Interface Initiative
(CharIN) as a full member. CharIN is dedicated to promoting global
charging-related standards by bringing together participants from across the
e-mobility value chain to develop a global infrastructure, a secure charging
and payment protocol, and new technologies to ease the transition to EV and
encourage more adoption, faster. Through its CharIN membership, Visa aims to
use its payments expertise to support these objectives.

Charlotte Hogg, CEO, Europe, Visa, said: “We believe the widespread adoption
of electric vehicles is key to helping Europe meet its net zero targets.
Ensuring people can easily pay to charge their vehicles is essential if we
want them to go electric. At the moment, this is not the case. We believe
this must change so consumers have the choice they deserve.

“We want to play our part in finding solutions to this challenge which is
why we’ve launched an industry consultation on how contactless and digital
payments can be accepted as standard. We’re also looking forward to
participating as a member of CharIN to advance the debate.”

Claas Bracklo, Chairman, CharIN e.V., said: “Since we are reaching a tipping
point for electric vehicle adoption, the need for a global standard to
connect infrastructure and to provide a seamless experience for electric
vehicle drivers has become more important than ever.

“While CharIN has been working for many years now with OEMs, charger
manufacturers, software and component suppliers, energy providers,
utilities, and many other stakeholders of the EV charging value chain, we
recognize that also the ease and consistency of applicable payment methods
are critical to a smooth customer experience. Therefore, we are thrilled to
have Visa on board of our alliance now willing to contribute with their
wealth of experience to make sure that the customer payment experience will
be easy, fast, and secure.”

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating
transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and
government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our
mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient,
reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and
economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone
everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the
future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.co.uk <https://www.visa.co.uk/>
.

About CharIN

CharIN e.V. – The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) is the leading
global association with more than 250 international members dedicated to
promoting interoperability based on the Combined Charging System (CCS) as
the global standard for charging vehicles of all kinds. Our goals include
expanding the global network of companies supporting CCS, drafting
requirements to accelerate the evolution of charging related standards, and
defining a certification system for all manufacturers implementing CCS in
their products. Find out more at: https://www.charin.global/.