Charge your car like you used to refuel: the end of charging-card chaos?
Think back to a conventional filling station: drive up, refuel, take out your bank card at the pump or hold your smartphone to the terminal – done. Nobody had to check beforehand whether they had the right “fuel contract” in their pocket or whether the station even accepted their provider.
In its early years, electric mobility instead gave us a real charging-card jungle. But that is now changing rapidly. The key term is Direct Payment (ad-hoc charging). No hidden roaming fees and no mandatory subscriptions. Charging is finally becoming as intuitive as conventional refuelling again.
The regulatory push: what the AFIR requires
The fact that Direct Payment is moving from a niche feature to the absolute standard is no coincidence – it is EU law. Since April 2024, the European AFIR (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation) has required operators of publicly accessible charging infrastructure to follow clear rules for ad-hoc charging:
Fast chargers (50 kW and above):
At newly installed fast-charging points, a physical card terminal (payment card reader or contactless device) is required by law. Drivers must be able to pay directly by debit or credit card without an app or prior registration.
Standard chargers (below 50 kW):
For lower-power charging points, a secure internet-based payment method is sufficient – for example a QR code that leads to a payment website.
Full price transparency:
All price components (price per kWh, any per-minute tariffs or parking/occupancy fees) must be shown transparently to the user before the charging session begins.
AFIR puts an end to opaque tariffs and creates the basis for two approaches that implement this development in practice: smart software solutions and modern hardware payment terminals.
Option 1: digital & flexible with Smart Fuel Pass
For operators who want to offer Direct Payment – especially below 50 kW – without major hardware retrofits, software-based approaches such as the Smart Fuel Pass are ideal.
The principle is very simple: the operator only has to place a QR code on the charging station. The EV driver scans this code with a smartphone or uses the associated app (available for iOS and Android) and can start and pay for the charging session without complicated prior registration.
The system is equally straightforward for operators: after the station has been verified, charging tariffs can be defined directly by the operator and processed payments are credited to the operator's own account. It is a genuine plug-and-play solution for passive income that meets regulatory requirements without changing the charging hardware.
Option 2: familiar & conventional with a POS terminal
Operators who want the user experience to match the familiar filling-station standard as closely as possible – or who, as fast-charging operators, are required by AFIR to provide it – can use permanently installed payment terminals directly at the charger. An established industry solution in this area is the PAX IM30.
This smart Android-based terminal turns the charging station into a fully fledged self-service kiosk.
No payment method left out:
Whether Girocard, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay – customers can pay contactlessly via NFC, by chip or, where supported, using the magnetic stripe.
Built for outdoor use:
The device has a 5-inch touchscreen that remains easy to read in direct sunlight and can even be operated while wearing gloves. With ratings including IP55 (protection against water and dust) and IK08 (impact resistance), it is designed to withstand demanding weather conditions from -20 to +70 °C.
Always connected:
If one network connection fails, another can take over. The IM30 can connect via 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi or Ethernet (LAN), helping ensure that charging sessions do not fail simply because one internet connection is unavailable.
Conclusion: convenience returns
The days when EV drivers had to carry a stack of different RFID charging cards in the glove compartment are coming to an end. Whether through a streamlined QR-code solution with Smart Fuel Pass or the familiar feel of paying by bank card at a PAX IM30 terminal, Direct Payment brings back exactly the simple spontaneity that makes the switch to electric mobility attractive to the wider public. Charging an EV is finally becoming what it should be: as easy as refuelling used to be.
Your Direct Payment project: we are here to help
Are you planning to build or modernise charging infrastructure and want to use future-ready Direct Payment solutions? We are happy to provide tailored projects with direct payment options – AFIR-compliant, user-friendly and commercially viable.
Let's discuss your project. Contact us for a non-binding consultation at: onlinesales@ampion.at
