Ionity is equipping some of its charging parks with a single terminal for ad-hoc payments mounted on a lamppost. However, the device is shaped like a birdhouse - allowing the provider to avoid installing a card payment terminal on each individual charging station.

At select Ionity charging parks, customers who wish to initiate and pay for their charging session ad hoc must now locate a terminal resembling a birdhouse. This central unit handles ad-hoc payments for all charging stations on-site. Note: Users paying via a charging card or app can still start and manage their session directly at the charger -this process remains unchanged. Only those opting for the admittedly expensive ad-hoc rate of €0.69 cents/kWh are affected by this update.

In practice, the customer activates the display on the charging station as usual, then proceeds to the lantern-style payment terminal to pay by card – only after this step can they plug the cable into their vehicle. While this adds a few extra metres to the process, Ionity trusts its customers to handle it – and, in turn, reduces construction costs. Perhaps this approach might even influence the next ad-hoc tariff adjustment?

In response to an enquiry from electrive, Felix Sold, Head of Marketing, Brand & Communications at Ionity, explains that the ‘birdhouses’ serve as Ionity’s central card terminals for older charging stations where a terminal cannot be easily retrofitted. Via such a Birdhouse, customers can make contactless payments with debit or credit cards at multiple charging points.

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