Ad hoc charging with a bank card: what AFIR requires

At a glance

• Ad hoc charging means charging without a contract or charge card and paying at the charger, by bank card, contactless or a QR code.
• Since 13 April 2024, operators must offer it at every publicly accessible charge point. That is Article 5(1) of EU Regulation 2023/1804, known as AFIR (text).
• A card terminal is only mandatory at charge points of 50 kW or more built since that date. Older rapid chargers on the TEN-T road network must be retrofitted by 1 January 2027. Below 50 kW a QR code is enough.
• The ad hoc price is often higher than a contract price, but not always. Example from our tariff catalogue, checked on 24 October 2026: Aral pulse in Germany charges €0.79/kWh ad hoc for DC above 50 kW and €0.62/kWh with its free Klassik tariff.

If you drive an electric car across Europe, you have probably wondered whether you need a stack of charge cards. You don’t. But the rules have a few gaps, and they matter at the charger. I have read the regulation itself rather than summaries of it. This is still not legal advice; where the exact wording matters, I link to it.

What “ad hoc” means in the regulation

AFIR calls it charging “on an ad hoc basis”: a single session without a contract with the operator or any charge card provider. The key sentence opens Article 5. Operators must offer end users the possibility to charge on an ad hoc basis at all publicly accessible charge points they operate. That covers supermarket car parks and multi-storey car parks as long as anyone can get in. The only exception is charge points where charging is free.

A few terms you will meet:

• Operator (CPO, charge point operator): the company running the charger, such as IONITY, Fastned, EnBW or Allego.
• Charge card provider (MSP or EMP): the company you have a contract with. Some are operators as well, others are not.
• Roaming: using provider A’s card at operator B’s charger. Prices then come from provider A.

How you can pay: three cases

Charge point	Requirement under AFIR Art. 5(1)	What it means for you
built from 13 Apr 2024, 50 kW or more	payment card reader or contactless device that can read payment cards	bank card, credit card, or phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay at the terminal
built from 13 Apr 2024, under 50 kW	card reader, contactless, or an internet-based device for secure payment, “such as those generating a specific Quick Response code”	often a QR code that opens a payment page
built before 13 Apr 2024	ad hoc charging yes, card reader no; from 1 Jan 2027 a reader or contactless device at 50 kW and above along the TEN-T network or at safe and secure parking	older chargers may only offer an app or QR code

One terminal may serve several charge points at a location, so look for a central pay station.

Two common misreadings. First, “from 2027 every rapid charger will take cards”. The retrofit duty only covers chargers of 50 kW or more on the TEN-T network and at safe and secure parking areas. A 150 kW charger on an industrial estate away from it is not covered. Second, “every new charger in Germany needs a card reader”. That was true under Germany’s old charging ordinance. Since 1 January 2026 a new version applies, which defers to AFIR on payment and no longer has its own stricter rule.

What the ad hoc price may include

For charge points of 50 kW or more built from 13 April 2024, AFIR is strict (Art. 5(4)). The ad hoc price is based on a price per kWh. The operator may add a per-minute fee “to prevent long occupation of the charge point”, which is the idle fee. Both must be displayed at the station before you start.

Below 50 kW, more is allowed. The operator must make all price components “clear and easily available” before charging, in this order: price per kWh, price per minute, price per session, anything else. A website or app referenced at the charger is enough.

What AFIR does not do:

• No price cap. Prices must be “reasonable, easily and clearly comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory” (Art. 5(3)). No number is set.
• No equal price for every payment method. Differences are allowed if “proportionate and objectively justified”. Courts are working out what that means.
• No rule for or against idle fees. Whether, when and how much is up to the operator. More in Idle fees.
• No guarantee the charger works. AFIR requires connected chargers, not availability.

What ad hoc costs: examples with sources

All prices from our open catalogue, each with a source on the provider’s site, checked on 24 October 2026. Prices change; the one shown at the charger is what counts.

Operator	Ad hoc at own chargers	With the operator’s own contract	Source
Aral pulse (DE)	AC €0.59 · DC up to 50 kW €0.69 · above 50 kW €0.79/kWh	Klassik, no monthly fee: €0.47 / €0.52 / €0.62	Aral
EWE Go (DE)	€0.84/kWh	free tariff: €0.52/kWh	EWE Go
Vattenfall InCharge (DE)	AC €0.47, DC €0.44 or €0.49 by site	same for every payment method	Vattenfall
Fastned (DE / NL)	€0.69 / €0.77/kWh	Gold Member €0.49 / €0.54 for €5.99 a month (offer price until 31 Oct 2026)	Fastned
Allego (DE)	DC up to 50 kW €0.66, above €0.76/kWh	free Smart app: €0.59	Allego
IONITY (DE / NL)	from €0.72 / from €0.76/kWh	app without subscription from €0.68 / €0.72	IONITY

Worked example: 40 kWh at an Aral charger above 50 kW costs 40 × €0.79 = €31.60 ad hoc, or 40 × €0.62 = €24.80 with the free app. That is €6.80, and the app only helps at Aral chargers.

How apps know the ad hoc price, and when they don’t

Since 14 April 2025 operators must make the ad hoc price available free of charge through an interface, along with operational status and availability (AFIR Art. 20(2)). The data reaches the public through national access points. Since 14 April 2026, DATEX II is the required format, and dynamic data such as prices should be updated within a minute of a change (NDW).

In practice coverage varies. Germany’s federation of consumer organisations wrote in July 2026 that not all operators had complied and that there was still no app showing all ad hoc prices (vzbv, p. 6). Our own count on 24 October 2026 along a route from northern Germany to the Netherlands: 99.1% of Dutch rapid charge points had an open price, compared with 50.5% to 61.3% in Germany depending on how duplicates are merged. WATTWEG therefore never claims to know every price. Where none is reported, it says so.

Charging ad hoc, step by step

1. Check the price. At 50 kW and above it is on the charger. Look for a per-minute fee and when it starts.
2. Find the payment method. Terminal at the charge point or a central pay station, otherwise the QR code.
3. Follow the order on screen. Pay first, then plug in, or the other way round; it varies by manufacturer.
4. Expect a pre-authorisation. Many terminals hold an amount on your card first and charge the actual total later.
5. Keep a receipt. Many terminals show a QR code or web address for it. A photo of the display helps too.
6. Set a timer for idle fees. Note the minute they start.

My advice for occasional public charging: a bank card is a perfectly good default. One or two free operator apps for the networks on your usual routes save money at their chargers. You don’t need a subscription for that. Whether one would pay off for you is worked out in Do I need a charging subscription?.