EV Charging on WhatsApp
A charging session is a short, structured interaction: find one, start it, watch it, pay, leave. That fits a conversation well. A driver can share their location, get a list of nearby chargers, start a session, stop it, see what they owe and be told when it is done, without installing anything first.
What a driver does inside the conversation, how it sits alongside your app rather than against it, what a site technician can do in the same channel, how payment works, and how identity is handled.
See the WhatsApp flowFor An operator who wants drivers charging in the first minute, whether or not they ever install the app.
Alongside your app, not instead of it
This is not an argument against having an app. Most operators should have both, and the two serve different people at different moments. The driver who charges at the same site every week is well served by an app and will install it. The driver passing through once will not, and that driver is the one a conversation reaches.
Swipe to compare
| App | ||
|---|---|---|
| Before first use | Install, register, permissions | Already installed |
| Rich history and account features | Stronger | Limited to what a message can carry |
| Driver passing through once | Rarely installs for one session | No barrier at all |
| Language | Whatever was built | Whatever the person writes in |
| Regular driver at a home site | Suits them well, and keeps them | Works, with less on screen |
| Notification | Requires permission most people deny | Arrives like any other message |
For a network operator most first-time users are also last-time users at that site. Every barrier before the first session removes some of them permanently.
What this runs on, and where it stands
This is shipping rather than in development. It is built on the WhatsApp Business API, which is what makes an automated conversation possible at all: a business number, message templates that have been approved in advance for the notifications, and a session window for the back and forth.
Two consequences worth knowing before you plan around it. Notifications like a completed session go out as pre-approved templates rather than as free text, so the set of things the system can announce is decided at build time. And the channel identifies a phone number, which is a good enough identity to start and pay for a session and not a good enough identity for anything privileged.
What a driver can do in a conversation
- 1
Find
Share your location and get back a short list of nearby chargers with what is free right now. A list is more useful in a conversation than a map is.
- 2
Start
Scan a code at the unit or send its identifier, then confirm. Fewer steps than an app's onboarding, let alone its login.
- 3
Monitor
Ask how it is going and get the state back. When the session completes, a message arrives without being asked for, which is the thing drivers actually want and rarely get.
- 4
Stop
A message, which beats walking back to the unit.
- 5
Pay
A payment link in the conversation with the amount already on it, and the receipt comes back to the same thread.
- 6
Report
A problem, with a photograph, which is a better fault report than most support forms produce.
The photograph is worth noting. A driver sending a picture of the unit gives an operator more than a dropdown of symptom categories ever does.
What a technician can do
Most of the value of this is on the driver side, and that is where it should be weighted. The same channel is useful for the site technician as a second case: technicians are frequently contractors who will not install an operator portal and will not remember its password.
- Register as a technician in the channel, without an account being provisioned for them first
- Receive a job request with the site, the unit, the symptom and the history already attached
- Work through the job checklist step by step, with the instructions for that unit in front of them
- Confirm attendance and completion without a portal
- Send photographs as evidence of the condition found and the work done
- Query the unit's recent state from where they are standing, before deciding what to do to it
- Escalate with context rather than by calling a colleague who has to look it up
Payment inside the conversation
Payment is a link in the conversation. The amount is on it, the driver pays by card, and the receipt comes back into the same thread where they will look for it. That works in India and outside it, which matters for any operator running in more than one market.
- A payment link in the conversation, card based, completed without leaving the thread
- Pre-authorisation is awkward, because the amount is unknown at the start of a session. Either a deposit or post-session settlement, and both have consequences worth choosing deliberately
- Receipt returns to the same conversation, which is where the user will look for it
- Tax invoicing has to work through the channel or alongside it, and the requirement differs by market
Identity in a channel you do not control
A conversation identifies a phone number, which is more than an anonymous web session and less than an authenticated account.
- A number is a reasonable identity for starting a session and paying for it
- It is not sufficient for anything privileged, and the boundary has to be drawn deliberately
- Numbers change hands, so a long-lived account tied only to a number will eventually belong to a different person
- For a fleet or corporate account, the conversation should be the interface and the account should be established elsewhere
Want this applied to your own site?
See the WhatsApp flowTechnically reviewed by Deepu Joy, Director of Products and Delivery. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace our app?
No, and it should not. Keep the app for the regular driver who charges at the same site every week. The conversation is for the driver passing through once, who will not install anything before their first session.
Can a driver pay inside the conversation?
Yes, by a payment link in the thread with the amount on it, paid by card, in India or outside it. The awkward part is that the amount is unknown at session start, so it is either a deposit or settlement afterwards, and each has consequences worth choosing deliberately.
Is a phone number enough identity?
For starting and paying for a session, reasonably. Not for anything privileged, and numbers change hands, so a long-lived account tied only to a number will eventually belong to a different person.
Should technicians use it too?
Often it is the stronger case. Site technicians are frequently contractors who will not install a portal and will not remember its password, and photographs make far better evidence than a form.
Is this available now?
Yes. It runs on the WhatsApp Business API, which means notifications go out as templates approved in advance rather than as free text, so what the system can announce is settled at build time.
Want drivers charging in the first minute?
We will run you through the driver flow on your own number: share a location, start, stop, pay, done.
See the WhatsApp flow