The Belgium-headquartered company has summarised what fuel retailers should take into account when looking at the implementation of EV charging or when already implementing it.

In 2021, the EU launched a proposal to convert the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive into regulation to establish a common framework of measures to support the roll-out of publicly accessible alternative fuels infrastructure in the EU. From a complete network of recharging and refueling points allowing seamless travel across the EU to easy-to-use payment methods.

To meet the changing customer behavior and expectations ICASA says fuel retailers should adjust their operating and business models. Therefore, it is necessary to have services at the station to keep the end customer satisfied and loyal. Since data is the new petrol, fuel retailers must leverage data to get customer insights. Investing in infrastructure and technology will be a critical part of that strategy and is the only way to future-proof your stations. 

ICASA comments: "Every new business model comes with new challenges. Today, there is a lack of control related to the management of electric charging sessions, involving a lot of credit risk for fuel retailers and service stations. Applying different restrictions/rules to EV Charging, as is already the case with traditional fuels can make it a profitable business model."

It adds that security is a very important element in ID authentication, which entails the process of confirming the correct identity to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of all data. ICASA usse encrypted keys to communicate, and the POS, Terminal, or Host securely routes the transactions to the ICASA online Authorization Center via secure connections.

In the last decade, cybersecurity has become a prevalent problem in the fuel retail industry, with complex challenges arising regarding the confidentiality and integrity of data (such as a PIN). The evolution of EV infrastructure and technology to online processing will not be any different. ICASA says it plays a pioneering role in the field of data protection. With an HSM (Hardware Security Module), it says that it can guarantee the highest security level for transactions. 

The company says it provides a future-proof all-in-one cloud platform that is capable of managing fuel retailers' EV and all other energy (retail) services, seamlessly and automatically.

"We guide our customers technologically to execute viable EV charging business models and provide the necessary POS/BOS/HOS support for all energy types," it adds.