LONDON: Zap-Map, the UK’s leading EV mapping service, has signed ESB Energy as the latest charge point operator to join its Zap-Pay service.

Zap-Pay allows electric vehicle drivers to pay for charging in a simple and easy way, avoiding the hassle of multiple apps across different networks.

With the addition of the payment service, Zap-Map offers drivers the ability to search, plan and pay all in one app.

ESB Energy is the second charge point operator to be added to Zap-Pay. The Irish company – which operates 1,100 charge points across Ireland – continues to increase its presence in the electric vehicle market in the UK with 145 rapid chargers installed in Coventry and London since their market entry in 2017.

Their partnership with Birmingham City Council, which encompasses the installation of almost 200 chargers, means their network will expand considerably over the next 2 years. It is currently the 8th largest rapid charging network in the UK.

ESB Energy operates 20% of all the rapid chargers in London and today’s announcement will accelerate easy, trouble-free electric vehicle charging in the capital. ESB Energy is a key network for Transport for London and the company provides charging services to many London cab drivers.

Zap-Pay was launched last year with a mission to sign-up all the key networks across the UK. Zap-Map has an unrivalled presence in the electric vehicle market – over 100,000 people use its service every month and an estimated 80% of EV drivers have downloaded the app.

Zap-Pay will continue to be rolled out across more UK networks in 2021, providing unique and unrivalled coverage across the whole country.

Juliet Davenport, CEO and Founder, Good Energy, said: “Zap-Pay is a unique service which provides a seamless and hassle-free experience for electric vehicle drivers. For too long, drivers have been forced to use multiple cards or apps to charge on different networks. Zap-Pay solves this problem which has been a major blocker to mass EV adoption. Now EV drivers can search, plan and pay all in one app.

The launch of a second partner is another step towards opening up Britain’s charging network to EV drivers. I look forward to seeing Zap-Pay progress at speed.”

 Niall Hogan, Head of EV Solutions, ESB energy, said: “This partnership with Zap-Map is a key one for ESB Energy, as it helps makes electric vehicle drivers lives easier, which is what we want. We want to ensure that the customer experience at our chargers is simple and straightforward and being part of Zap-Pay will help us to do that.”