5 Reasons Payment Solutions in The Charging Industry Are Fragmented

The question on everyone's mind is: What's taking so long?

The electrification of the transportation sector is commonly associated with the slow pace of expanding the charging infrastructure. But one equally, if not a more serious obstacle, is the fragmentation of payment solutions.

You need cards, tags, apps, and a never-ending cycle of registration and downloading of codes, etc. to get where you’re going.

A symptom of a dysfunctional market that harms the drivers just as much as the CPOs (charge point operators) and MSPs (mobility service providers).

Because they are bleeding money. Money that could have otherwise been spent on expanding the urgently needed charging infrastructure.

We need to solve the fragmentation of payment solutions so they can focus on doing what they do best: Build and develop charging infrastructure.

Here are the 5 main challenges:

• Legislation alone cannot fix it: Limiting the fragmentation by legislating for a specific technology will only risk driving up prices for users and restrict innovation. Technology neutrality must be maintained.

• Fast-paced market with no direction: The EV charging market is a wild west in terms of direction and regulation, and the expansion of charging infrastructure is extremely competitive. This uncertainty leaves investors reluctant and innovation is stifled.

• Lack of price transparency: EV drivers often don’t know how expensive their charging is going to be. This is because CPOs and MSPs are very restrictive with their data when competing in a market where there are no mechanisms in place that incentivize the sharing of data.

• Lack of collaboration between actors: Without a unifying framework for payment solutions to rely on, CPOs and MSPs are desperate to lock in their customers by implementing their own separate payment solutions. In order to maintain these lock-in effects, they have no choice but to hold onto their data, and collaboration is therefore limited.

• Big market players dominate: Installation of hardware is expensive and new companies need to leverage high capital upfront when entering the market. Competition and innovation are limited, and prices only increase for EV drivers.

We need to focus on doing the right thing and attacking the problem at the core.

More cards, more tags, aren't going to help. This dysfunctional system can only be fixed by centralized payment solutions. Where there is fragmentation, we should strive to make it whole.

And this is what we're working towards. Eljun is a blockchain-based, green payment solution that makes it easier and more profitable for people to choose eMobility. We help people be part of the green transition while giving them convenience, cash and comfort.

You can learn more about who we are and what we're doing here.