EV Charger Payment Kiosk
Most first-time drivers at a public site cannot pay, because paying requires an app they have not installed and will not install for one session. A payment point at the site removes that, and the design question is whether it is one kiosk for many bays or a terminal on each unit.
Who cannot pay with an app, the choice between a shared kiosk and per-unit terminals, payment methods in India, the pre-authorisation problem when the amount is unknown, what happens when the kiosk is offline, receipts and GST, and the physical realities of accessibility, weather and vandalism.
Discuss payment at siteFor An operator serving occasional or first-time drivers, particularly on highways and forecourts.
Who cannot pay with an app
- First-time users at that network, which on a highway site is most arrivals
- Occasional drivers, who will not install an app for one session and are right not to
- Anyone with no signal, which underground is everyone
- Anyone with a full phone, a flat phone or a device that cannot run it
- Rental and fleet drivers using a vehicle that is not theirs
- Visitors from outside the country
Together these are not an edge case on a public site. On a highway forecourt they are the majority of arrivals, and every one of them is a session that did not happen.
One kiosk or a terminal on each unit
Swipe to compare
| Shared kiosk | Terminal per charger | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | One device across many bays | Multiplied by bay count |
| Driver journey | Walk to it, identify the bay, return | Pay where you are standing |
| Failure impact | No driver at the site can pay | One bay affected |
| Maintenance | One device to service and secure | One per bay |
| Suits | Larger sites, attended or semi-attended | Small sites, and anywhere the walk is awkward |
| Weather and vandalism | One point to protect | Exposure at every bay |
The failure row usually decides it. A single kiosk is a single point of failure for the revenue of the whole site, and that risk grows with the number of bays behind it.
Payment methods in India
- 1
UPI
The default expectation. A QR at the unit costs almost nothing and covers most drivers, and it does not require a terminal at all.
- 2
Card
Needed for visitors, corporate cards and anyone outside the UPI system. Requires a certified terminal and brings its own compliance obligations.
- 3
Wallets
Depends on the audience and adds integrations, each of which is a thing that can break.
- 4
RFID or a network card
For regular users, which is a different problem from the first-time driver covered here.
For most Indian sites a UPI QR resolves the majority of the first-time payment problem for a fraction of what a kiosk costs. A kiosk is warranted where card acceptance or an attended experience is genuinely required.
The pre-authorisation problem
The amount is unknown when a session starts. Every payment design has to deal with this and each option has a visible consequence for the driver.
- Authorise an estimate and settle the actual. Standard, and the hold must be released promptly or it becomes a complaint
- Take a fixed amount and refund the difference. Simple, and refunds cost and take days to arrive
- Pay after the session. Best for the driver and carries collection risk if they leave
- Prepay a chosen amount and stop at it. Predictable, and it ends sessions early which drivers dislike
The held authorisation is the one that generates complaints, because the driver sees a larger amount than they spent and it stays for days. Releasing promptly is the single most effective thing to get right here.
When the kiosk is offline
- Card payment generally requires authorisation, so it fails, and this must be visible to the driver rather than appearing to work
- UPI likewise depends on connectivity, so a QR does not help either
- The fallback is whether charging can start without payment: free, deferred, or refused. That is a commercial decision that should be made in advance rather than by whoever is on call
- A site that cannot take payment and refuses charging is a site that is down, and it should be reported as down rather than as available
Receipts, GST and the physical realities
- Commercial drivers need a GST invoice, and a payment receipt is not one
- A printer at the site is a consumable and a failure point. Emailing or messaging the invoice is usually better and requires capturing a contact
- Accessibility: reachable height, readable screen in sunlight, operable without fine motor control
- Weather: a kiosk outdoors in India faces heat, monsoon and dust, and the enclosure rating has to reflect that
- Vandalism and theft: a payment device unattended overnight is a target, and it is worth siting it where it is overlooked
Want this applied to your own site?
Discuss payment at siteTechnically reviewed by Deepu Joy, Director of Products and Delivery. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a kiosk at all?
For most Indian sites a UPI QR at the unit resolves the majority of the first-time payment problem for a fraction of the cost. A kiosk is warranted where card acceptance or an attended experience is genuinely required.
One kiosk or a terminal per charger?
The deciding factor is usually failure impact. A single kiosk is a single point of failure for the revenue of the whole site, and that risk grows with bay count.
Why do held authorisations cause complaints?
Because the amount is unknown at session start, so the hold is an estimate larger than the actual spend, and it stays visible on the driver's account for days unless released promptly.
What happens if the site loses connectivity?
Neither card nor UPI works. The fallback, whether charging proceeds free, deferred or refused, is a commercial decision that should be made in advance.
Is a payment receipt enough for a commercial driver?
No. They need a GST invoice with the required particulars. Emailing or messaging it is usually better than a printer, which is a consumable and a failure point.
Drivers arriving who cannot pay?
Tell us the site type and how many arrivals are first-time. Frequently the answer is a QR rather than a kiosk.
Discuss payment at site