• EFTCorp, Rubicon, Visa and Verifone have launched a new solution that makes it easier to pay to charge an EV.
• The new open-loop payment system allows EV vehicle owners to pay for a charge with a credit card rather than a third-party payment solution.
• The hope is that this makes EV charging more accessible and as a result, increases the number of EVs on the road.

As electric vehicles start to gain more popularity locally, there will be a greater need for charging stations so owners of those vehicles can recharge while away from home. While there are a few charging stations around, they mostly used a closed-loop payment system.

This means having to set up an account, transferring funds to the account and then paying to charge your car. Now, EFTCorp has launched an open-loop solution that allows users to pay with their credit card.

The solution was cooked up by EFTCorp in collaboration with Rubicon, Visa and Verifone. With this solution in place, charging stations should be far more accessible and user friendly.

“The implementation of incremental pre-authorisation for dynamic, consumption-based billing is a first for South Africa,” says Paul Carter-Brown, chief technology officer at EFTCorp. “It’s a great example of how collaboration can lead to significant innovation, with complex technologies being integrated to deliver a streamlined and user-friendly experience for customers.”

The CTO says that the solution involves multiple moving parts including remotely controlling remote payment terminals. Piecing the various systems together appears to have been a monumental feat but it appears to have been done.

With this new solution in place, charging an EV should be simpler than it has been. EFTCorp explains how the solution works in a four step process.

1. Plug in: The user connects their car to a Rubicon charging station.
2. Pre-authorisation: Once plugged in, the Verifone UX700 payment device at the station prompts for payment. The system then reserves a predefined amount on the user’s credit card before the charging starts.
3. Charging: Once the pre-authorisation is approved, the charging process begins.
4. Payment: If the user stops charging early, the final payment reflects only the electricity used, and the remaining reserved funds are released. If the charging process continues beyond the initial reservation, the system incrementally increases the reservation amount, adding funds to the initial pre-authorisation as needed, and the final amount is settled when the car is unplugged.

“The result is a significant advancement for the sector, benefitting all parties involved,” says Hilton Musk, E-Mobility Project Manager at Rubicon. “Though it required complex operational changes, the result is the opposite for the end-user: A considerably simplified experience. It’s a unique solution for the EV charging sector and an important step for sustainability in South Africa, because the easier it is to access and use EV charging solutions, the better the adoption of electric vehicles will be.”

EFTCorp says that this solution can be scaled up to support other regions and it can also be used for other services aside from vehicle charging.

“Unattended payments are revolutionising the way consumers interact with businesses, and it is our ongoing goal to upgrade these shopping touchpoints into powerful digital commerce hubs that streamline the experience for the end user. Together with its partners, Verifone leads this transformation through new standards for convenience and security, and through solutions for modern transactions that are deeply integrated with merchants’ and partners’ ecosystems,” adds Craig Ranking, general manager for Verifone South Africa.

You can find a map of Rubicon’s charging stations here. Hopefully as the demand for EV charging stations increases, more of these stations pop up, especially in the interior of the country.