I don't have an NFC card or phone yet. Will you make a card available for those that can't use it?
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Zero:Net - The UK's open Charging Network
- Thread starter Kevin Sharpe
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- Ireland United Kingdom
contact your card vendor and they will send you a sticker to put on your favourite device :smile:
Looks cool, but I'm confused how this works in with ZCW. I thought the whole point was that it was simple dumb charging stations and didn't require a special card. Also there's a fee for charging? Does that go to charity?? So is this a separate thing from ZCW (which I thought was a charity)?
Refreshing to see that the text acknowledges the phenomena of being ICEd.
No special card required... it uses your credit card, phone, or other contactless device to take payment direct from your bank account without PIN etc. It's exactly the same POS technology used in Starbucks, etc.
The host site can choose whether they take a fee for the charging... I suspect that most locations will not.
None of the fees charged (if any) to the driver are paid to ZCW which is a registered charity. We are promoting this because it's inline with our ethos of simple, reliable, charging, everywhere.
No, that's used as an access mechanism which some sites require (many Hotels for example).
Remember that this does not require a card.. I've been testing with a sticker on the bottom of my phone.
The US has not adopted the RFID like Europe has. They are pretty rare here. I had one for about a week and it got hacked, and I had to close it. The credit card company quit issuing them.
Edit: Perhaps under Marketplace we should have a title for 'Products and Services' .
Either way it's still yet another special thing you have to get. Maybe all the other networks will adopt it.
Nothing special... it's in EVERY new credit card and Phone!
Note: I forgot the US is so far behind in this area :wink:
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Some questions:
- Does it require a backhaul link in order to work?
- Will the site prominently display the charge to charge?
- Is it a flat fee, a per kWh fee or is the device capable of either?
I just called my bank to see whether I can upgrade my debit card to a contactless type. They said I can't - it is happening on a random basis and mine is not likely to be changed until reaches its normal expiry date. The agent said the best I can hope for is if I report it lost or stolen, there is a higher likelihood that they will issue a contactless one as a replacement, but even that is not a guarantee.
Yes, it's using mainstream POS systems. It's smart and batches transactions and transmits them at night, it does not validate transactions in real time.
This is up to the site to decide.... IMO most will still support free charging.
Well, like everything else if you want something and it's not offered by your current provider then you go elsewhere.... if you look at the Rolec documentation you will see this is in partnership with Barclaycard who are not a small player... that said, Barclays are just the first of many POS vendors who want to play in this space and believe that contact-less is the way to go.
IMO this represents the end of all membership based charging schemes in Europe.
I think it's a great idea in theory but premature. I'm not going to change bank or card provider for this one thing - particularly to Barclaycard, who are not known for the best interest rates. My bank - an even larger player - is introducing NFC and has been for a number of months, but they are not moving all their customers overnight and despite the agent I was speaking to trying to bend the rules, it would not let him order one for me.
No one is forcing you down this path.... feel free to drive on by the charging stations :smile:
Maybe you should call it "charge:net" , Because you are being "charged" a fee for "charging" In contrary to "zero:net" that is "zero charge" for charging in return for services!
In my mind they even need separate maps on your site to not get confused!
Don't worry, the new Zero:Net map will allow you to select preferences for charging... for example, only using Solar Electricity, avoiding Tap-n-Charge, only Best Western Hotels, etc., etc.
The reality is that some charging locations require access control and leveraging existing POS networks allows for very low cost and reliable deployments. Working with mainstream suppliers like Barclaycard will quickly build competition in the industry which does not work in the UK today (we have one EV back-office provider).
Having spent time waving my phone across a Charging Station to access electricity I know this is the future... It's so much easier than spending half an hour waiting for the hotel desk to find an RFID card (something I did last week).
See here for more about contactless in the UK: Co-operative launches contactless credit cards - August - 2012 - Which? News
"The Co-op is planning to issue contactless payment cards to more than two million debit and credit card customers, giving them to all new customers and replacing people’s existing cards when they expire."
"Contactless debit and credit cards were first introduced in 2007 and there are now around 15m contactless cards in circulation in the UK. HSBC and NatWest are among the providers that are currently replacing existing cards with contactless cards."
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Which means you have to get a new credit card or phone.
How expensive is a standard magnetic swipe reader? For a while I've been saying that all these different charging networks should just be able to take a credit card instead of requiring membership (though somehow this credit card concept seems counter to European culture). I think something like a standardized RFID is the way to go, but you should probably keep your card in a foil pouch.
We've had a few competing systems in the US but none have really taken off. A couple years ago I had a Bling tag (sticker) on my phone which was linked to my Paypal account. Was a cool concept and several merchants in Palo Alto were using it, but it practice, tapping my phone was really no faster than swiping my credit card.
Not at all.... you can get a NFC sticker from your existing credit card provider that you place on the back of your phone or in your wallet while you wait for your card renewal... in the UK the next credit/debit card you receive will have NFC as a standard feature.
Just because you don't understand this in the US does not mean it won't be successful in Europe!
In the UK a credit card transaction also requires a pin and therefore you need a keypad and display on top of the cost of your magnetic swipe reader. The advantage of NFC systems is the fact that you need none of these interfaces.
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Like I said, a new thing you have to get. You have a penchant for twisting language.
Well, if a sticker is a problem while they wait for the next credit card to arrive then I really can't help.... personally I love being able to pay for charging by waving my phone or credit card and then walking away.... remember none of this is compulsory, drivers can always find another Charging Station if they don't like the service being offered.
PLEASE remember we are in the UK section of the forum... try and understand that we do things differently (as my US employees like to remind me).
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