Visa, a global digital payments provider, has announced a partnership with JustCharge, a community electric vehicle (EV) charging service operating from private driveways and other locations across the UK, a JustPark subsidiary.
JustPark is a London-based technology platform that matches drivers with parking spaces through its website and mobile application.
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Under the partnership, Visa customers using JustCharge will receive rewards when they pay using their debit or credit card, making paying for EV charging as easy and natural as any other contactless purchase.
In Visa’s survey of EV and hybrid drivers, 95 per cent of respondents said standardised payment across public charging points would give them greater choice and accessibility.
JustCharge enables EV owners with a private charger installed at their home or business premises to rent it out to other EV drivers when not in use via an intuitive app. By unlocking thousands of available charging points close to workplaces, homes and commuter stations, it helps to make EV ownership a viable option for many more UK households.
Research by JustPark shows that if just five per cent of households with a home charger joined its community charging network, this would double the number of charging locations available in the UK today.
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By GlobalDataEnabling private homeowners to monetise periods when they’re not using their charging point themselves also helps mitigate the loss of the government OZEZ EV charger installation grant, which ended in March 2022.
According to research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), most new EV owners charge at home. However, more than half of British households have no designated off-street parking, creating a national divide in the viability of EV ownership. The same report states the problem is particularly acute in the north of England, where the ratio of EVs to charging points now stands at 52:1, compared to 30:1 in the south.
The SMMT also reports that EV sales now account for one in six new UK car registrations and growth in public charging facilities has significantly fallen behind this surge in demand. Its figures show that while plug-in car registrations grew by 280 per cent between 2019 and 2021, charge point availability increased by only 69 per cent.
JustCharge is operated by JustPark, the UK’s leading online driveway sharing platform, which already connects five million drivers with over 45,000 private driveways, parking spaces, garages and other locations every year.
Mike Strahlman, director of EV at JustPark said: “We must collectively find solutions to help millions of British households transition to clean-air vehicles. While EV demand is growing dramatically, public charging infrastructure is falling significantly behind. Unlocking thousands of home chargers during the 90 per cent of the day they are not in use makes EV adoption a possibility for more than 50 per cent of British households without access to designated off-street parking. This partnership with Visa is a landmark moment in our efforts to redress the balance and make EV adoption an effortless, viable and cost-effective solution for millions more UK drivers.”
Charlotte Hogg, Chief Executive of Visa Europe said: “The challenge we collectively face is to grow our electric vehicle charging infrastructure rapidly and strategically, and find sustainable solutions today to avoid creating problems for the future.
“Innovative solutions like JustCharge, which provides secure, managed public access to private charging-points, can make an immense contribution to overall EV charging provision. We’re delighted to be involved through this new partnership.”
