Spontaneous recharging of electric cars to become easier Federal Cabinet paves the way for uniform payment system for charging stations

Today, the Federal Cabinet initiated a revision of the Charging Station Ordinance. The new rules are to make the payment process used for charging stations that are open to the public more convenient.

Said Federal Minister Peter Altmaier: “For eMobility to really break through, we must not only provide funding for electric vehicles, but also make the charging process and payment for this more convenient. In future, the charging stations that are open to the public will accept standard credit and debit cards. This means that these charging stations will be open to everyone – including customers that do not own a smartphone. As credit cards work everywhere, this also opens up charging stations to cross-border travel.”

The draft revision of the Charging Station Ordinance would stipulate that operators of charging points must soon offer at least one method of contactless payment via standard or debit card for customers wishing to use the charging point spontaneously.

The new provision is to apply for all charging stations that enter into operations after 30 June 2023. There would be no obligation to bring existing charging stations up to that standard. The draft proposal has been notified to the European Commission. Once the notification process has been concluded, the draft revision will be passed on to the Bundesrat as a next step in the legislative process.

A summary of the key points can be found here.
The text of the ordinance can be found here.