Mastercard, Banco Sabadell and EDP have presented today a project to boost the electric vehicle use through the display of 1 000 recharging points, equipped with EMV contactless technology for the payment with credit card or a mobile device. The first prototype with this technology has been presented in Avilés today, as part of the 2nd European Congress on Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles, in presence of Sara Aagesen, Secretary of State for Energy and Enrique Fernández, Minister of Industry.

This payment technology enables to solve some of the challenges that the electric vehicle recharge faces in public spaces, such as the absence of a unique user experience, the intramodality’s complexity between operators, and the absence of a standard method when making the payment. It is estimated that, by 2030, only in Spain 360 000 public access recharging points will be needed.

The first recharging points, operated by EDP, produced by EFIBAT and with AEDIVE’s and Phoenix Contact’s collaboration, will begin to display in Asturias, in order to be introduced progressively all around the country, aiming to promote the use of electric vehicles and to turn Spain into a sustainable touristic destination.

To Paloma Real, CEO of Mastercard Spain: “As the main European economies face the challenge of ecological transition, the electrical vehicle, and its recharge, become the transforming vector, and it is necessary for our competitiveness, that these recharging facilities have an efficient payment system, sustainable and inclusive. Mastercard is honored to bring EMV contactless technology to an initiative such as this one, which aims to strengthen visits to rural arears, worthy of Spain’s attention, while engaging for the ensemble of our country as a first level touristic destination”.

Pablo Junceda, deputy director of Banco Sabadell and CEO of Sabadell Herrero, has highlighted that Banco Sabadell “contributes to this action of accelerating the implementation of a recharge points network for electric vehicles, with a quick, flexible and easy-to-use payment system based in cards or mobile devices”. Junceda has also stated that the electric vehicle “is here to stay” and has emphasized the finance entity commitment with a sustainable economy: “With this action we mean to support the quality and sustainable tourism and help the inclusion of geographies with significant demographic challenges."

To Javier Martínez, director of EDP’s Sustainable Mobility, “this is an innovative project that fits perfectly in EDP’s Strategic Plan, introduced to the market in February, and which main line is the development of customer service. Allowing the electric vehicle user to recharge easily has always been one of our concerns, as well as increasing these points’ infrastructures. We have already worked in this line with EDP’s app MOVE ON, in which these new recharge points will be operable, as well as in third-party roaming. Furthermore, they may be used with credit or debit card, which helps to a more accessible use.