As of April 13, 2025, the European Union's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) has made a significant shift in how public EV charging stations must operate. All newly deployed public charging points above 50 kW are now required to include contactless payment terminals — enabling card-based transactions without requiring a mobile app, RFID card, or prior registration.
This regulation represents one of the most impactful changes to the EV charging landscape in Europe since the Clean Energy Package. For CPOs, the implications are both operational and architectural.
What AFIR Requires
The core mandate is straightforward: ad-hoc access via payment card must be available at every new public charging point rated above 50 kW. This means debit and credit card payment via contactless NFC terminals. The regulation also requires transparent, per-kWh pricing displayed before a session begins.
For existing stations, a transition period applies. However, any new installation or major retrofit must comply from day one. CPOs operating across multiple EU member states must ensure compliance in every jurisdiction — and some countries are implementing stricter local interpretations.
Technical Impact on CSMS Architecture
From a CSMS perspective, AFIR compliance requires tight integration between the charging station's payment terminal, the OCPP backend, and the payment processing infrastructure. The CSMS must handle concurrent payment authorization flows (RFID, app-based, and now contactless card) without impacting session start latency.
For operators running OCPP 1.6 backends, this creates additional complexity. OCPP 1.6 was not designed with payment terminal orchestration in mind. OCPP 2.0.1 and 2.1 offer better primitives for this — particularly around transaction handling and tariff communication — but many CPOs are still running legacy backends.
What CPOs Should Do Now
First, audit your current fleet for compliance gaps. Map which stations are above the 50 kW threshold and which lack integrated payment terminals. Second, evaluate your CSMS's ability to handle the additional payment flows — particularly if you're on OCPP 1.6. Third, consider this an opportunity to modernize: AFIR compliance and OCPP migration can be planned together to reduce total cost of change.
The regulation is not going away — and enforcement is ramping up. CPOs who treat AFIR as a catalyst for platform modernization will be better positioned than those who treat it as a checkbox exercise.