Ad hoc

Charging without a contract, paid directly at the charger, for example by card or QR code.

Explained in

EV charging fundamentals · Stop 05Why do different drivers pay different prices?Same charger, same hour, three prices. How contracts, subscriptions and ad hoc card payment price one session differently, and where the money goes.

Ad hoc payment (0.69). No contract, the operator's own price, shown before the session starts. Every public charger must allow ad hoc payment. Those built since April 2024 must accept electronic payment: by card reader or contactless card at 50 kW and more, below that also by an online payment such as a QR code. From 2027, older chargers of 50 kW and more along the trans-European road network need a card reader or contactless reader as well.

From “Three routes to one charger”, stop 05

Also in

  1. EV charging fundamentals · Stop 01Why does charging feel more complicated than refuelling?Three reasons the work is shared
  2. EV charging fundamentals · Stop 08What standards make all of this work?AFIR step by step
  3. Charging hardware · Stop 07What does a charger need before it may be used?Visible from day one
  4. Charging infrastructure · Stop 03Which permits and contracts does a site need?Contracts the driver never sees
  5. OCPI and roaming · Stop 04How does a token reach the charger?Speed against control
  6. Payments and billing · Stop 02When must the price be shown?Two prices, one session
  7. Business models · Stop 02How does a CPO earn money?Rules for the operator's price
  8. Regulations and compliance · Stop 02What does AFIR require?Duties at every public charge point

Named in 4 further stops as well.

  1. CDRCharge detail record: the digital receipt of a session, with energy, duration and tariff.
  1. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR), Article 5. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 07 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.