It wasn't that long ago that the
EMVCo, which is collectively owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa, has formed the Electric Vehicle Open Payments Task Force. The task force will engage with EV industry participants to look for ways to apply EMV payment technology or standardized transaction processing to EV charging.
The organization hopes the influence and scale derived from its ties to most of the world's largest card networks will spur the adoption of a single payment experience for EV charging at a time when ownership of EV vehicles — and the diversity of EV charging options and subsequent payment flows — is set to grow rapidly.
"EV drivers need to have multiple accounts with multiple EV charging operators right now," said Arman Aygen, director of technology for EMVCo. "It can be a challenge to know how and where you can charge your car."
The EMV task force will engage with technology-industry organizations and standard-setting bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization and the Secure Technology Alliance, building on work from past efforts in other industries to embed EMV specifications into EV charging.
It may also work on new EMV specifications for EV charging stations, guidance for security evaluations and a method to approve compliance with new standards.
Plugging into EVs
EV users sign up for different EV brand-specific applications or group memberships to pay at charge points. Since most drivers use credit cards or mobile wallets to pay for charging, they could theoretically pay at other charging stations, but compatibility is not guaranteed. Specifications for one EV charging station don't automatically match those of other locations, so not all cards or contactless payment options work universally.
That creates a fragmented payment system that harks back to a time when not all merchants took all credit cards, or the 2010s when European businesses often had a point of sale for local chip card users and an "American" point of sale for travelers using magnetic-stripe cards.
"Every owner of an EV knows they can pull into a charging point for their EV's brand and the vehicle is 'recognized,'" Aygen said. "So that owner knows they can charge there. What we want to do is put a recognizable payment layer on top of that."
For years, this has been a problem on the fringes of the payments industry, since most EV owners charged at dedicated charging spots at or near their homes. For example, EV charging was not included in the "
But EV charging is expected to become a larger, more scattered and more lucrative business in the years ahead. The number of EV charge points in the U.S. alone is expected to grow from about 4 million today to about 35 million in 2030, according to
And the number of EV charging stations that are in common areas — or areas not near homes or apartments — is expanding, making it more likely people will be looking to charge at a location that's more "on the go" than currently. Seventeen percent of EV charging stations will be in centralized business districts by 2030, up from the current 0%, according to PwC, which adds that "integrated payments" will be a key element of EV charging stations that are located away from strictly residential locations.
The electric vehicle equipment market is expected to be a $100 billion market by 2040, PwC says, with the bulk of that revenue coming from charge-point operators (the entities that operate EV charging stations).
One of the goals of the EMVCo task force is to encourage usage of the
"It's like the chip cards," Aygen said. "The ISO standard looks at and ensures the connection between the car and the charge point."
Another goal is adoption. Merchants in the U.S. were initially opposed to the EMV migration due to cost, though the retailers largely accepted the migration. Gas station operators also had complications in converting
The task force hopes to add auto and EV charging manufacturers, said Aygen, adding that the task force's work is based on industry feedback.
The difference with EV stations is that while they are expanding, there's not nearly as many as merchant or gas station points of sale. And the card networks aren't pushing a fraud liability shift as with the original EMV migration.
"EV charging is evolving very quickly," said Jorn Lambert, chief digital officer at Mastercard, which is part of the EMVCo EV initiative. "And there are a lot of parties that are involved."
There are options to streamline EV charging payments, according to Lambert, such as standardizing the information that is exchanged through the charging cable; or via an e-commerce method that transfers payment information through online channels. There is also the possibility of "over the air" information transfers, he said, adding that there may be a mix of options that eventually emerge to ensure access to EV charging.
Not just electric
The problem is not just about EV charging. Enabling payments for more traditional fueling methods is also complex, according to Lambert.
Mastercard in late September partnered with Mercedes-Benz to enable drivers to use a fingerprint sensor in their car to make payments at service stations in Germany.
Mercedes is the first Mastercard client in the auto industry to implement biometric fuel payments at scale, and the intent is to eventually include EV charging and expand the fueling payment network to more automakers and countries. Mastercard has another partnership with Hyundai that includes in-car payments for general e-commerce, but not fueling. Enabling fueling and EV is a "big use case," Lambert said. "How do you enable 3,600 fueling stations in Germany, and then migrate that into EV charging, parking payments and make all of that work internationally?"
One option is to use geofencing technology that senses when a car enters a fueling station, and enable the dashboard that automatically displays the correct payment interface for fueling, charging or other purchases, Lambert said.
The complexity of EV charging, and the potential to derail a lucrative payment flow, could push standardization, either via EMVCo or another initiative.
"The lack of standards or having several competing standards slows down technology growth dramatically," said Mike Ramsey, vice president and analyst for automotive and smart mobility at Gartner. "For the movement of information, if there is no standard then usually there has to be a giant middle layer of technology to translate everything."
The lack of overriding standards pushes the interoperability problem to vendors, making it a "vendor problem," Ramsey said, adding that it pressures a move toward an organization or coalition that translates all of the data into a format that everyone can understand.
"As soon as a common standard is reached, there's typically an explosion of growth in the technology," Ramsey said.
