What is a charging card for electric vehicles?
Are you familiar with the fuel card? The charging card, or recharge card, is the same thing, but for electric vehicles. There are many players on the market offering charging cards and even hybrid cards that work at both petrol stations and charging stations. These players are known as Mobility Service Providers (MSPs). Most of them supply cards in the form of a badge or token, but it is also possible to activate a charging session via the MSP's smartphone application.
Using the charging card in Europe
With a single card, you can charge at home, on your company's charging infrastructure and at public charging stations in Luxembourg and abroad. The European network is growing by the day, and is becoming increasingly accessible by being interoperable across the different operators of charging stations in Europe.
Tips for optimising your charging card
- Don't hesitate to compare the tariffs of the different MSPs for public charging
- For some suppliers, charging cards are directly linked to an application in which you can link a bank card and retrieve the full history of charging sessions. This gives you an overview and control over operations.
- You may want to consider having a second provider to extend your range of options.
- Ask service providers about other electromobility services that can be combined with your charging cards (company billing management, home charge reimbursement, interoperability by making your charging infrastructure accessible to the public, etc.).
Good to know: new European AFIR regulations
Note that under the new European AFIR (Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation) regulations, in force since April 2024, it is compulsory for all new publicly accessible charging stations to be equipped with a means of payment (e.g. a bank card reader) so that users can charge and pay as they go. In addition, the relevant prices must be made available clearly and easily (per kWh, per minute, etc.). These new regulations will make charging at public charging stations more accessible and reduce any concerns about whether or not you have the right charging card to charge.