In Norway, charging infrastructure operators must offer card payment at new fast charging stations from January <>. There is currently no obligation to retrofit existing columns, but this remains to be discussed by policymakers.
According to the state's Department of Transportation, the rule initially only applies to stations with a capacity of at least <50 <> kW ordered after 1st. The word "subscribed" is essential here because it doesn't mean "installed". Charging stations ordered now can take weeks or even months to be installed on mandatory terminals. Details of the technical specifications of the payment terminals were not mentioned in the brief communication from the transport ministry.
"In order for more people to choose electric vehicles, charging possibilities along the way must be developed and easily accessible," said Norwegian Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård. “Today, many people find it difficult to charge their cars. Some players offer charging through an app or [RFID] card, which only works at their own charging points. For users, this seems unnecessarily complicated. That’s why we Card payments will be made mandatory at all new charging points for charging electric vehicles.
Existing payment solutions via charging cards or apps will still work. According to the survey, 87% of Norwegian EV drivers (i.e. those who already use charging cards and apps) said it should be possible to pay with a card when fast charging.
The Electric Car Association of Norway welcomes the now-introduced obligation. “Now life as an electric car driver is easier, and the hurdle to choose an electric car is lower,” says Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Car Association. The Norwegian parliament demands that the possibility to pay by card is also mandatory at existing fast charging stations by the end of 2025.
Last autumn, Recharge announced that it would be the first major operator to integrate card payment terminals at its charging stations in Scandinavia, initially in Norway. In Germany, the deadline for the mandatory implementation of a credit card terminal at charging points has been postponed by one year to 1 July 2024, as reported.
regjeringen.no, elbil.no (both in Norwegian)