EV software provider Recargo has partnered with charging station operator SemaConnect to launch a new public charger payment solution. Pay With PlugShare is designed to integrate payment features with PlugShare, a crowdsourced map of public, private and residential charging locations.

Pay With Plugshare will be available at more than 300 SemaConnect charging stations in the US and Canada. It works with a smartphone, requires no membership costs or prepaid subscriptions, and allows payment use Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.

“Our focus has been on building sophisticated charging stations that are simple to use and incredibly reliable with the best user interface possible, so partnering with PlugShare was a natural fit,” said SemaConnect CEO Mahi Reddy. “We want to define a higher standard for the charging experience based on quality, not quantity, for all electric vehicle drivers.” 

According to the companies, PlugShare offers the world’s largest database of charging stations, and serves over 60% of EV drivers. Users can get directions to charging stations via Google Maps, add tips and photos about their charging location experiences, and even share home charging stations with other EV owners.

The Pay With PlugShare platform has been designed to be charging network neutral and scalable. Networks providing fee-based charging can use their existing payment system or PlugShare’s e-commerce infrastructure. Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) support will be rolled out by the end of 2013.                     

Source: Recargo, SemaConnect