For the past couple of years, public electric vehicle charging stations have been available free of charge, to get early adopters used to charging their Leafs and Volts at the shopping mall, movie theater, workplace, etc. That is starting to change now, and it’s a real challenge for property owners, utilities, municipal governments, and charging infrastructure suppliers to figure out payment methods that won’t anger consumers and fleets. Charging station solutions company Liberty PlugIns (LPI) has partnered with mobile payment platform provider QuickPay Corp. to create a payment system for parking structures with charging stations.
The combined solution will allow drivers to pay for a charging session by mobile phone, via text message or smartphone app, using the QP QuickPay mobile payment service and receive a charging authorization code from LPI. Drivers will be able to located QP-enabled charging stations when searching for parking, saving time and adding convenience. Parking providers and facilities managers can streamline the process of offering charging stations with an easy, low-cost way to manage EV charging payments. “Mobile payments make adding this feature simple and cost-effective for drivers and providers alike,” said Chris Outwater, CEO, Liberty Plugins.