It pays to make EV charging a rewarding experience

Paythru’s Sara Sloman shares four lessons EV chargepoint operators can learn from retail payments

The payment experience, often treated as an afterthought in electric vehicle infrastructure, is fast becoming as critical as charge speed and uptime. 

This would come as no surprise to those working in retail and hospitality, where smooth payments are a key part of the customer experience. This was bought home by a recent piece of research by Checkout.com – Trust in the Digital Economy 2025 – which emphasises that trust at checkout is built on three key principles: speed, security and transparency.

These same principles directly apply to EV charging, where a driver’s – and, in many cases, a chargepoint host’s – confidence can be influenced by a few small but crucial interactions. In fact, the report highlights a number of lessons that chargepoint operators (CPOs) can learn from a sector that has been honing the art of making payments easy since Mesopotamian market traders first agreed to accept silver for textiles.

Lesson 1: Connect physical charging with digital rewards to incentivise better chargepoint utilisation 

Chargepoints are physical entities which offer on-site payments as well as online and app-based tools to engage and pay. 

Retailers are becoming adept at connecting in-store and online behaviour through the use of apps, QR codes, and location data to offer new customer incentives and capture more detailed customer data. 

According to the Checkout.com report, loyalty programmes can now push real-time offers based on location and purchase history, meaning the digital economy is reshaping how consumers do “physical retail”. EV charging networks can adopt similar strategies at chargepoints. 

For instance, a quick tap or scan at a chargepoint could direct drivers to an app or website that provides real-time pricing, session status, and payment confirmation, all without the need for them to create an account. The time spent waiting for their vehicle to charge could be transformed from a hassle into a perk by offering location-based deals, such as discounts on coffee or loyalty rewards at nearby businesses. 

Introducing incentives such as these could encourage repeat visits or boost business during slow periods, attracting users to off-peak charging and encouraging behaviours that are beneficial to both the grid and their own bottom line. This approach not only promotes network loyalty but also enhances long-term engagement with users. 

Lesson 2: Fast host settlements build stronger partnerships 

Another interesting insight comes from the gig economy, which has changed the retail landscape for home delivery services. Gig workers are managed via platforms that log their activity and pay them accordingly. They expect to see earnings in real time, and delays can be more than just an inconvenience; they can undermine trust in the payment platform itself. According to the Checkout.com report, as gig platforms evolve, real-time pay will shift from a differentiator to an industry standard.

A similar lesson could apply to CPOs who install chargepoints at hotels, retailers, and other private hosts, with revenue-sharing arrangements. If they can offer options to pay out the host’s share of revenue instantly, or at agreed fixed points, said hosts will be more likely to choose them over competitors, and more likely to promote the use of chargepoints to customers as they can see an immediate benefit. 

This requires CPOs to treat host settlements as an essential part of their service. By providing transparent dashboards, live data on session activity and revenue, along with automated and reliable payment splits, payments can become a tool for building trust instead of a source of friction.

Lesson 3: Meet driver expectations of payment speed and UX 

Finally – and perhaps least surprisingly – the Checkout.com report highlights the importance of speed and user experience (UX) during the checkout process. Two-thirds of consumers believe that poor payment performance undermines their trust in a brand, and 42% say they will not return after a failed payment. This issue is similar to the experience of charging: a slow, unclear, or glitchy interface can harm customer trust just as much as a failed payment can in an online store. 

Likewise, when drivers encounter confusing pricing, complicated payment processes, or high preauthorisation levels and slow repayments, they will be less likely to return to that charging network. Therefore, chargepoints need to provide fast, intuitive interfaces, along with flexible payment options such as contactless, mobile wallets, or linked apps. 

A smooth and familiar payment process builds trust, increases successful rates, and ensures that drivers leave with a positive impression of the brand.

Lesson 4: Payment security and trust in EV charging networks 

Trust in the chargepoint network is closely linked to payment security. According to the report, 40% of consumers will abandon a purchase due to security concerns. Given that payments for EV charging are often made at unattended terminals, where visible and invisible security measures both matter, this finding should alarm CPOs. 

At a minimum, CPOs should comply with PCI DSS 4.0 standards, encrypting cardholder and vehicle data end-to-end to protect against data breaches. For publicly-funded charging infrastructure, compliance is mandatory; for private networks, falling short risks fines, reputational damage, and service disruption. 

But security must be more than technical. It needs to be obvious to the user. Clear privacy notices, recognisable and trustworthy payment domains, padlock icons, and immediate payment confirmations all signal that the transaction is safe. This visible reassurance can be as important as the security protocols themselves.

CPOs should also strike the right balance between fraud prevention and payment success. Overly aggressive fraud filters or unnecessary card declines can erode loyalty just as quickly as a breach. The goal is frictionless security, protecting the transaction without slowing or complicating the experience.
When drivers know their payment is both safe and seamless, they’re more likely to trust your network, return for future charging, and recommend it to others

Retail payment lessons for charging networks

Whilst there are differences, the retail sector’s payment practices provide a valuable blueprint for EV charging. If CPOs want long-term loyalty from partners and users, they must treat payments not as a secondary feature, but as a central strategic pillar of the charging experience itself. 

Sara Sloman is chief strategy officer at Paythru