UK smart charging consultancy Versinetic is working with cashless payment automation company Gemini 2000 to offer a simplified payment and charging point management system for EV charging site owners and installers.

Versinetic is combining its LinkRay load management module, which supports up to 100 chargers per installation, with Gemini’s payment terminal to consolidate payments from any OCPP-compatible EV charger onto one easy-to-manage platform.

This means that EV charging operators that manage sites containing multiple charging points from different vendors will no longer need to purchase, install and maintain one payment terminal per charging point. Nor will they need to subscribe to cloud services on a per-charger basis.

LinkRay is a small hardware module that is fitted onsite and connects to any set of AC or DC chargers, balancing charger outputs so they do not exceed site limits. It also provides historical graphing of site power to ensure that power configuration, operational status and site usage is all within expected parameters.

LinkRay can handle authentication using RFID or the Gemini payment terminal, or pass messages from the chargers to an OCPP-compatible back-office management system (CSMS) to authorize transactions for billing. The payment terminal allows LinkRay to bridge the gap between an offline system with pre-authorized transactions and a cloud-based system predominantly taking payment for each transaction.

The Versinetic-Gemini unified EV payment system is currently available in the UK and Europe, and the companies plan to expand the rollout to other countries in the future.

“Our work with Versinetic will simplify payments for EV charging and ultimately help bring more EVs onto the roads,” Julian Moskov, Gemini 2000, said. “The payment process for EV charging can be a confusing and frustrating process for drivers and site operators alike. Our solution sees EV drivers benefiting from a simple and clear charging experience and having one payment terminal to contend with benefits site operators with lower set-up and running costs.”

Source: Versinetic