For companies with employees who regularly drive abroad, a charging card is not a minor detail. Using the wrong card at the wrong station in France, the Netherlands, or Germany can sometimes double the cost per kWh — or the card may simply be refused. Below are the criteria we recommend companies evaluate before establishing a European charging card strategy.

How does a European charging card actually work?

A charging card connects you to a charging network via a mobility service provider (MSP). This MSP has contracts with charge point operators (CPOs) throughout Europe and handles payment and pricing behind the scenes. You maintain one card or one app and receive a single monthly invoice — regardless of the fact that you have charged in four different countries.

The secret lies in the agreements between MSPs and CPOs, known as roaming. Not every MSP has a contract with every CPO, and not every roaming relationship operates under the same conditions. This accounts for the variation in rates and coverage.

Five criteria for choosing your European card

  • Coverage per country: request a list of the number of active charging points per country and the percentage of the market covered. A card that covers 95% in Belgium but only 40% in France is useless for a salesperson who regularly drives to Paris.
  • Pricing per CPO category: request rates not only per country, but per charging station category (AC public, DC up to 50 kW, DC from 150 kW) and per CPO. Some cards offer competitive AC rates but more expensive DC charging, or vice versa.
  • Session and time surcharges: the “headline” price of €0.55/kWh seems reasonable until you discover that a €0.40 session fee and €0.05 per minute are added on top. Always request the full all-in rate based on a reference session of 30 minutes.
  • Backoffice and reporting: can you segment by employee, vehicle, country, and CPO? For a fleet of 10 vehicles or more, this is essential to enable cost control and tax accountability.
  • Integration with split billing: can the same card be used for public charging in Europe and for split billing at a home charging station? This avoids having two separate systems for a single employee.

One card or several?

For fleets that structurally drive in multiple countries, a single card is rarely the optimal choice. A typical strategy:

  • A primary card for the most frequently visited countries, selected based on the best all-in rate.
  • A backup card with broader coverage for sessions in countries where the primary card has weak coverage.
  • Possibly a separate arrangement for DC fast charging on motorways if the primary card is expensive there.

Practicalities: what does the employee receive?

Provide employees with one physical card plus an app. The app should at least be able to show: nearby charging points, the rate at that station, real-time availability, and the ability to start a session without a physical card (useful if the card is left at home). Train employees on its use — fleet managers often underestimate how many “more expensive” sessions are due to poor choices in a busy car park.

What does a charging card strategy really cost?

The direct cost of a card is usually a fixed amount of €1 to €5 per month per card, plus any activation fees. The real cost lies in usage. For a fleet of 30 vehicles with mixed European driving patterns, the difference between a well-chosen and a poorly chosen card strategy is typically €10,000 to €25,000 per year.

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Would you like to have your European charging card strategy audited? Schedule a consultation with our fleet specialist — we analyze your driving profiles per country and calculate what an optimized card mix can save you.