How do roaming partners settle with each other?
The commuter's session at the supermarket charger is over. The operator sends a charge detail record to the provider.
At the end of the month, the operator will invoice the provider for all such sessions.
The questionHow does the money move between the two companies?
- Sessionat a partner's charger
- CDRfrom the operator
- Invoiceprovider to driver
- CDRsof the month
- Invoiceoperator to provider
- Reconciliationboth check it
The driver never pays the operator directly in a contract-based roaming session.
CDRs as the common basis
Both invoices start from the same . treats a CDR like an invoice: it cannot be deleted, only credited with a and replaced. CDRs can be pushed by the operator or pulled by the provider.
OCPI 2.3.0 edition 2 adds an Invoice Reconciliation module, so the two companies can check an invoice against the CDRs it covers.
Prices between companies
The operator charges the provider under their agreement, often based on the tariffs it exchanges in OCPI. EU law does not allow operators to discriminate through prices between end users and providers or among providers, unless the differentiation is proportionate and objectively justified. The exchange itself is shown in OCPI and roaming, stop 06.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
What is the common basis of both invoices in a roaming session?
The CDR from the operator is the basis for the provider's invoice to the driver and the operator's invoice to the provider.
What did OCPI 2.3.0 edition 2 add for settlement?
Edition 2 adds Invoice Reconciliation, so invoices can be checked against CDRs.
May an operator charge one provider more than another for the same session?
AFIR, Article 5(3), forbids price discrimination between providers unless justified.
- OCPI Open Charge Point Interface: an open protocol for roaming between operators and e-mobility service providers. EV charging fundamentals, stop 03 Glossary
- Roaming Charging in another company's network with your own card or app. EV charging fundamentals, stop 03 Glossary
- CDR Charge detail record: the digital receipt of a session, with energy, duration and tariff. EV charging fundamentals, stop 05 Glossary
- Credit CDR A record that cancels a CDR already sent; OCPI does not allow CDRs to be deleted, so corrections run through credit CDRs. OCPI and roaming, stop 06 Glossary
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI 2.3.0, CDRs module: credit CDRs, push and pull model. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/mod_cdrs.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI 2.3.0, CDRs module: credit CDRs, push and pull model. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/mod_cdrs.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI 2.3.0, introduction: edition 2 and the Invoice Reconciliation module. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/introduction.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 5(1) to (5). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.