Fit for AFIR: How GreenFlux enables full payment compliance

The new European standard Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation, or AFIR, is now live, and it is here to stay. AFIR mandates that all public charging stations comply with many requirements related to pricing, payments, billing, interoperability, and third-party data sharing.

While AFIR touches on all of these, most importantly, it enables easier payments and boosts price transparency. GreenFlux customers already benefit from a wide range of solutions that enable swift payments. With the implementation of AFIR, we would like to highlight how our intelligent solutions enable full AFIR compliance.

Read our in-depth article: All you need to know about AFIR

Direct payment solutions by GreenFlux: Transparent and easy

One of AFIR's biggest tasks is to facilitate ease of payment by electric vehicle (EV) drivers at all public charging stations. At present, it is easy to swipe an eMSP card past the charging station's RFID reader, but the ability to make ad-hoc payments with a debit or credit card is often still limited. With the adoption of the AFIR regulations, charge point operators (CPOs) are obliged to make such ad hoc payments via debit or credit cards much easier.

But if you are a GreenFlux platform customer, you do not need to worry at all. Here’s how we help CPOs using our platform:

1. Contactless via Payment Terminal

AFIR mandates that a charging station with a power output above 50 kW has to be equipped with a contactless reader, which can be used by EV drivers to pay for charging sessions. Besides this, pricing should be transparent and always clearly available to drivers. GreenFlux supports a selection of well-known and trusted payment terminals, such as the widely-used Payter Apollo terminal, which displays prices and enables ad-hoc payment.

In addition, many charge station manufacturers provide already-integrated payment terminals. At Greenflux, we support such integrations automatically, starting with OCPP 2.0. For earlier versions of this protocol, we can support customised integrations, if needed.

Moreover, thanks to our full implementation, we support all payment terminals using OCPI 2.1.1 and will soon start deploying the same for OCPI 2.2.1.

2. QR code: scan and charge

For charge stations with a power capacity lower than 50 kW (mostly AC), CPOs can choose other, comparatively cheaper, payment solutions. We offer our customers these options via a QR code generated in our EVPortal.

The QR code can then link to:

a. Direct payment via Charge Assist (white-label) app

Charge Assist is a permanent companion for many EV drivers on the road and can be used by CPOs to facilitate payments. The mobile app opens when the driver scans the QR code on the charge station and links directly to the payment page of the relevant charging point.

AFIR gives CPOs at AC charging points more freedom in their tariff structure. For example, they can enable dynamic tariffs linked to the supply of renewable energy. This is exactly where Charge Assist can help, with a transparent display of these tariffs. In addition, it is useful for drivers to know that their charging session history is saved in the app. Charge Assist also helps them export their payment history whenever necessary.

CPOs always have the option to get Charge Assist as a white-label app in the app store, helping them achieve an entirely branded customer experience.

b. Direct Pay via Web

In some cases, especially with a one-time payment, it can be easy for drivers to not download any apps. GreenFlux offers CPOs the option to offer payments via a web page. The QR code brings up an intuitive page that takes drivers to a payments webpage, where they can start a charging session in just a few steps and easily pay once the session is complete. In this case, too, we give CPOs the option to display transparent prices on the web page with their own branding, so drivers will never forget that they are charging with you.

Web payment is a new functionality supported by our platform, and we are eager to share more about this option in a blog very soon.

'Providing various and transparent payment options is a must for any actor in eMobility. That is why we are delighted to support our customers with our payment expertise – from classic RFIDs to new funky terminals to our famous Charge Assist mobile app that provides a great experience for the drivers.' - Diana Gorodetska, Senior Product Manager Payments

Offer the right payment solution to your customers

AFIR helps with standardisation, but in today's EV charging market, there is no one way that covers all charging use cases. That is why we at GreenFlux believe that CPOs should be able to offer a myriad of payment options to their EV drivers. We want to make sure each location meets the charging needs of the driver. No matter which option you choose, our platform will help you bring it to fruition.

Discover all our Revenue Optimisation solutions now, or reach out to one of our experts to further discuss integration options.