Octopus Electroverse card
While Octopus Energy are well known utility providers, they also offer a car charging app and many other EV related services. The octopus Electroverse card is one of those such services. It offers the ability to charge on the vast majority of car charging networks with the use of one card. They have advertised over 500 thousand EV chargers on their app and have added 20% in just one year. This makes them one of the biggest virtual charging platforms. Not only is the Electroverse card useful in the UK but it also has its uses abroad. Octopus have partnered with providers around the world to create one card that will rule them all.
How it works
The Electroverse card links to your everyday octopus account if you have one. If you don’t have and Octopus account, then not to worry you can still apply for an Electroverse card. Any charging sessions that you start will then appear in your Octopus account and be billed in one place, keeping it simple. Using the app, you can filter the providers that are compatible. At these charge points, it is as simple as tapping your card and plugging in and at some supported places all you do is plug in. Whilst the card gives access to all types of chargers, personally I think it is more useful for destination chargers in carparks as these often have their own app. Using this card stops you from having to download a new app and share your details with another company.
Why can’t I use my credit card?
This has been the age old issue since EVs became more popular 10 years ago. Every provider used an app to start charging which has meant that virtual providers like Electroverse cards have become more popular. Gathering together multiple providers made it easier for users. Given the recent EV charging regulations, using a card like the Electroverse card might be a thing of the past in some cases. Now, all rapid chargers are required to be accessible by contactless, but for lower powered chargers this isn’t a requirement at the moment. This will mean that for destination chargers you will still need some sort of app or charging card to activate the charger.
