Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that all public electric vehicle chargers must (a) allow for direct card payment and (b) not require the use of an app.

In coming months, the Government expects to pass regulations to mandate that contactless payment is available at all newly installed chargepoints capable of charging over 7.1kW. This requirement will extend to all existing chargepoints at 50kW and over, one year after the legislation comes into effect.

The Government has also announced its intention to mandate payment roaming to enable streamlined payment without the need for numerous apps. All chargepoint operators will need to offer roaming at all of their public chargepoints by connecting to a third party roaming provider. Consumers will be able to pay to charge across multiple networks using a single app or RFID (radio frequency identity) card.