Access Tokens

Introduction

Not every charging session should involve a card payment at the station. In many business scenarios a station should be available to a defined, trusted group of users — employees, fleet drivers, residents of a community, or guests — while settlement happens later, in bulk, on the operator’s side.

That is what access tokens are for. Instead of paying for each charge, the user authorises with an identifier assigned to them — an RFID contactless card or a PIN code — and the system records the session and attributes it to the right settlement.

Typical use cases:

• Fleet — drivers charge company vehicles with an RFID card, and the cost lands on a single consolidated company settlement.
• Workplace — employees use stations in the company car park as a benefit.
• Community / building — residents have access to shared stations.
• Service access — technical authorisation for maintenance purposes.

How it works

Authorisation with an access token happens without any payment at the station:

1. The user taps an RFID card at the station reader or enters a PIN code.
2. The station forwards the identifier to the system, which checks whether the token is active and authorised to charge at that station.
3. On successful verification, charging starts.
4. When the session ends, the system records it and attributes it to the settlement of the token owner.

This requires the relevant authorisation method to be enabled on the station — see authorisation method configuration. A station that does not have RFID or PIN enabled will reject such an authorisation attempt.

Readers in the charging station

RFID card authorisation requires the charging station to be equipped with a contactless reader. Most modern AC and DC stations have a built-in reader supporting common contactless card standards.

• If the station has an RFID reader — the user can authorise with a card directly at the station.
• If the station has no reader, or the user does not have their card — the alternative is PIN authorisation, which requires no additional hardware in the station.

Authorisation methods

Settlement of authorised sessions

Every charging session authorised with an RFID card or a PIN code is recorded and included in the operator’s settlements. Thanks to this, “no payment at the point of use” charging is fully accountable and attributed to the right entity.

All operations are available:

• live in the portal — a real-time view of sessions, card and PIN statuses, and related settlements,
• in the export file (Billing) — after the settlement period closes, the system generates a billing that includes, among others, a synthetic summary of charging sessions with the authorisation type.

Details on statements, accounting documents and settlement periods are described in the Settlements section.

Full authorisation flow

The diagram below shows, in a more detailed and technical view, the full authorisation path — from a user holding an RFID card or a PIN code, through verification on the system side and the access decision, to recording the session and making it available in the portal, the settlement file (Billing) and via the API.

API access

All operations related to access tokens — adding and blocking RFID cards, managing PIN codes, and reading sessions and settlements — can also be exposed programmatically, through the API.

This lets you integrate access management with your own systems (e.g. HR, fleet or ERP) and automate granting and revoking permissions.

RFID cards — order or bring your own

You can order RFID cards in the portal under Shop — they are ready to use and compatible with the readers in the stations. You can also use your own contactless cards that comply with the supported standards.

Order  RFID cards under Shop

Reader and card standards

Cards and readers are based on the ISO/IEC 14443 standard (13.56 MHz, including MIFARE) — a safe choice if you want to use your own cards.