CPO · eMSP · roaming

Electric car charging stations payment system — every session, one feed.

Tap-to-pay at the charge point, hosted app checkout, RFID hand-off and roaming eMSP settlement — every acceptance channel on a public or private charging estate, stitched to its OCPP session and rolled into one reconciliation feed per station.

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  • Tap-to-pay
  • App checkout
  • RFID card
  • Roaming eMSP
PSD3 / AFIR
contactless at the charge point per EU regulation
Pre-auth
hold-then-capture-per-session, refunded to the cent
Multi-currency
settlement across markets and operators
1 estate feed
reconciliation across every station and lane

Key benefits

Why CPOs and eMSPs pick this shape for charge-point payments

Four properties that show up the moment a CPO stops running three parallel payment stacks (tap, app, roaming) and starts running one.

  1. 01

    Tap-to-pay at the charge point

    Contactless card and wallet acceptance directly on the charge-point terminal, aligned with EU AFIR / PSD3 expectations for open card payments on new public chargers. Buyers don't need a subscription or app to start a session.

  2. 02

    Pre-auth + capture per session

    The station holds a pre-authorisation at plug-in, captures the actual amount when the session ends, and voids the difference back to the driver's card automatically. Nothing over-charges; nothing under-recovers.

  3. 03

    Roaming eMSP settlement

    Drivers paying through third-party mobility service providers (Plugsurfing, Chargemap, Shell Recharge, etc.) settle across roaming rails; the platform routes the receivable and normalises the settlement row into the CPO's ledger.

  4. 04

    One reporting feed across the estate

    Settlements, interchange, fees, refunds and chargebacks from every station and every acceptance channel (tap, app, RFID, roaming) roll into one reconciliation feed tagged by station ID, session ID, connector, currency and provider.

How a session becomes a paid row

From plug-in to reconciled row in six steps

What actually happens between the driver plugging their car in and the CPO's finance system seeing a settled row tagged with the session ID.

  1. 01

    Driver arrives, presents card or wallet

    The driver taps a contactless card or wallet on the charge-point terminal, or opens the CPO's app / a roaming eMSP app to authorise the session.

  2. 02

    Pre-authorisation held

    A pre-authorisation is placed for the estimated max session cost. The vault issues a session token; the driver sees a hold, not a charge, on their statement.

  3. 03

    Session runs, kWh metered

    The charge point meters kWh delivered in real time. Session state is streamed to the CPO's back-end via OCPP; topropay's session token stays linked to the metered session.

  4. 04

    Session ends, capture triggered

    When the driver unplugs, the exact amount captures against the pre-auth. Any surplus of the pre-auth reverses automatically; the vault token drives the reversal.

  5. 05

    Roaming / direct settled

    If the session was billed via a roaming eMSP, the receivable settles through the eMSP's clearing rail. Direct tap-to-pay sessions settle through the connected acquirer.

  6. 06

    One reconciliation row per session

    Each session produces a reconciliation row tagged with station ID, connector ID, session ID, driver identifier (roaming ID or vault token) and currency for the CPO's finance stack.

Main use cases

Where a unified charge-point payments platform earns its keep

Five recurring operator shapes — CPOs, eMSPs, retail forecourts, fleet operators and hospitality / destination charging.

  • CPO

    Charge Point Operators (CPOs)

    Multi-site CPOs running public DC-fast estates across cities and highways — tap-to-pay, app checkout, RFID and roaming through one integration and one reconciliation feed.

  • eMSP

    eMobility Service Providers (eMSPs)

    eMSPs settling to their driver base and routing receivables across CPO networks — one API for the receivables side, one feed on the payable side to CPOs.

  • Retail

    Retail forecourts adding EV charging

    Supermarkets, fuel forecourts and hospitality chains adding EV charging alongside existing card acceptance — the same merchant record covers store checkout and charge-point sessions.

  • Fleet

    Fleet operators with private charging estates

    Delivery, taxi, van and logistics fleets running their own depot chargers with driver-ID-authorised sessions and billback rules per driver, cost centre or shift.

  • Hotel

    Hospitality and destination charging

    Hotels, cafés, gyms and destinations offering charging as an amenity — hosted pay link per bay, per-hour or per-kWh pricing, guest folio integration where relevant.

Platform features

Capabilities across the charge point, the CPO back-end and the estate

Twelve capabilities grouped by where they sit — at the charge point, behind the CPO, and across the estate finance stack.

At the charge point

  • Contactless card & wallet

    Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay accepted directly on the charge-point terminal via partner acquirer.

  • RFID / app hand-off

    RFID card presentation triggers a linked account; hosted checkout for app-initiated sessions with the CPO's brand.

  • PSD3 / AFIR-aligned

    Open card payment at the charge point per EU regulation for new public chargers; DCC and pricing transparency respected.

  • Pre-auth + session capture

    Hold at plug-in, capture-at-unplug with automatic reversal of the surplus; nothing over-charges the driver.

Behind the CPO

  • Unified API for every channel

    One REST contract for tap, app, RFID and roaming; SDKs for CPO back-ends and mobile apps.

  • Session ↔ payment stitching

    OCPP session metadata (session ID, kWh, connector) tied to the payment vault token for one-to-one reconciliation.

  • Roaming settlement routing

    Receivables from Plugsurfing, Chargemap, Shell Recharge, Hubject-based hubs and other roaming networks routed and normalised.

  • Smart routing across acquirers

    Per-BIN, per-currency routing for tap-to-pay sessions across the connected acquirer panel; soft declines cascade inside the same authorisation.

Estate & finance

  • PCI DSS Level 1 vault

    Card data captures into the platform vault before any acquirer sees it; PAN never lands on the charge point or the CPO's back-end.

  • One reconciliation feed

    Station-tagged settlement, roaming credits and refunds normalise into one ledger; daily exports for the CPO's finance system.

  • Multi-currency across markets

    CPOs operating across EU, UK, LATAM and APAC settle in each acquirer's supported currency; FX metadata per row.

  • Chargeback tools per station

    Disputes surface session ID, kWh delivered and connector type in the evidence pack for representment.

Industry relevance

Built for licensed CPOs and eMSPs across EU, UK and beyond

topropay's charge-point posture targets licensed CPOs and eMSPs operating in the EU (with PSD3 / AFIR-aligned public estates), the UK (with the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023), select APAC markets and LATAM. Fleet operators with private estates and hospitality / retail operators adding charging as an amenity are equally supported.

Trust & compliance

Compliance posture inherited across every charge point

One audited environment for the orchestration layer; PCI L1 vault; PSD3 / AFIR alignment on the acceptance side; SCA / PSD2 on app-initiated flows.

PCI DSS Level 1
Vault, switch and tokenisation are PCI DSS Level 1 service-provider components; CPOs inherit the posture across every station and every acceptance channel.
PCI MPoC where applicable
SoftPOS-style attendant flows for hospitality or destination staff running mobile checkout follow the PCI MPoC (Mobile Payments on COTS) programme.
PSD3 / AFIR alignment
New public chargers required to accept open card payments under EU regulation — the platform supports the acceptance side end-to-end via partner acquirers with the right terminals.
SCA & PSD2
Selective EMV 3DS2 on app-initiated CNP flows keeps European approval high without skipping the SCA bar; card-present at the charge point clears under its own CVM rules.
Sanctions & AML alignment
Sanctions screening on onboarding; AML monitoring tuned per CPO or eMSP operating footprint and volume.
Licensed verticals only
Licensed mobility service providers, licensed CPOs and other compliance-bound operators supported subject to underwriting. Grey and black-market verticals are out of scope regardless of vertical shape.

Ready to unify charge-point payments

Put every station on the same reconciliation feed.

A 30-minute estate review covers your CPO / eMSP shape, target markets, roaming partners and terminal-deployment plan — followed by a sandbox to test against before any commercial commitment.

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Frequently asked

Operator questions about the electric car charging stations payment system

Regulatory scope, pre-auth mechanics, roaming settlement, OCPP integration and the practicalities of running a multi-site charging estate under one payments platform.

  1. 01

    What does an electric car charging stations payment system on topropay actually cover?

    An electric car charging stations payment system on topropay covers every acceptance channel the CPO operates: contactless tap-to-pay directly on the charge-point terminal via a licensed partner acquirer, hosted app checkout for driver-app-initiated sessions, RFID card hand-off to an account-based flow, and roaming settlement via third-party eMSPs. All four normalise into one reconciliation feed per station and per session.

  2. 02

    Is tap-to-pay at the charge point mandatory in Europe?

    Under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) and the wider PSD3 direction, new public charge points above a certain power threshold are required to accept open contactless card payments without requiring a subscription or app. topropay supports this end-to-end via connected acquirers with PCI-approved terminals installed at the charge point.

  3. 03

    How is a pre-authorisation handled per session?

    At plug-in, the terminal places a pre-authorisation hold for the estimated maximum session cost — the driver sees a pending charge, not a settled one. When the session ends, the exact amount is captured against the pre-auth; any surplus is voided or refunded to the card automatically, with the vault token driving the reversal.

  4. 04

    How does the platform handle roaming eMSP flows?

    When a driver authorises a session through a roaming eMSP (Plugsurfing, Chargemap, Shell Recharge, Hubject hubs, etc.), the CPO's charge point delivers the session and reports it back through the OCPP / roaming protocol. topropay routes the receivable through the roaming clearing rail on the CPO's behalf and produces a normalised reconciliation row tagged with the eMSP identity.

  5. 05

    Can one merchant record cover multiple stations and multiple countries?

    Yes. A CPO onboards once and configures per-station and per-country settings from the dashboard. Different countries can settle in different currencies through different connected acquirers; the reconciliation feed rolls it all into one export tagged by station ID, currency and provider.

  6. 06

    Which payment methods work at a public charge point?

    At the charge point directly: contactless Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay and — where the partner terminal supports it — chip-and-PIN fallback. Through the CPO's or eMSP's app: cards, wallets, SEPA Direct Debit for recurring drivers and BNPL where appropriate. RFID cards tied to an account authorise via the account's stored credential.

  7. 07

    How does the platform tie a session to its payment?

    Every payment authorisation carries a session-ID field passed in from the CPO's OCPP layer. The vault token issued at pre-auth stays linked to that session ID through capture, refund and dispute events. Reconciliation rows carry both the session ID and the vault token so finance can join them one-to-one.

  8. 08

    What happens if the driver disputes the charge?

    The unified dispute queue surfaces the session ID, connector ID, kWh delivered, session start / end timestamps and station location as part of the evidence pack. Representment templates are tuned for the EV vertical; scheme representment where the transaction supports it runs automatically.

  9. 09

    Does topropay support fleet-side billing?

    Yes. Fleet operators with private depot chargers can bill sessions back to drivers, cost centres or shift codes via account-based authorisation at the charger (RFID or app). Reconciliation rows carry the fleet identifier and driver identifier for HR / finance system imports.

  10. 10

    How quickly can a CPO go live?

    From contract to first public tap-to-pay session is typically 4–8 weeks, driven by the partner acquirer's terminal installation timeline and any station firmware updates. Roaming eMSP connectivity, app checkout and RFID flows can go live in parallel on the topropay side while the terminals are being deployed.

  11. 11

    Are chargebacks tagged with session data?

    Yes. Chargebacks carry the session ID, station ID, connector, session start / end timestamps and kWh delivered. Evidence packs pre-fill this data alongside the driver identifier (roaming ID or vault token) and the pre-auth / capture pair.

  12. 12

    What about DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) at the charge point?

    DCC is available where the connected acquirer is licensed to run it and the scheme rules allow it in the market. When offered, DCC surfaces on the charge-point terminal as an explicit driver choice — never as an automatic markup. Many CPOs prefer to disable DCC entirely for simplicity.

  13. 13

    How is multi-currency handled for cross-border driving?

    The buyer's card is charged in the station's local currency by default (per scheme rules); the CPO's settlement lands in the currency configured for that country's connected acquirer. FX metadata (transaction currency, settlement currency, applied rate) is stamped on every reconciliation row for treasury visibility.

  14. 14

    Does topropay handle the OCPP side?

    topropay owns the payment side. The OCPP session layer sits with the CPO's own back-end (or a specialist EV back-end vendor). The two integrate at the session-ID level — topropay passes session metadata through the payment lifecycle and receives session start / end events from the CPO's OCPP layer.

  15. 15

    What geographies is the electric car charging stations payment system available in?

    Availability is where the connected partner acquirer supports charge-point terminal deployment — EU, UK, and select APAC and LATAM markets today, with additional markets added as partner terminal estates expand. A 30-minute coverage review confirms availability for the CPO's specific network footprint.

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