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Charging card rejected

How to fix issues with charging cards.

If your charging card gets rejected, the charging session will not start.

To learn how to add a charging card, see How to add charge cards.

How to see if your charging card gets rejected

You can tell your card is rejected by checking the following:

Via the charger

This depends on the charger model, but generally:

  • The LED will blink red

  • The screen displays a cross

  • The charger makes a long beep sound

Via the web portal

  1. Go to Chargers > (your charger) > Logs

  2. Swipe your charging card.

  3. In Summary, a refused card shows with its reason, for example The card is not known. For the details, open All messages and look for StartTransaction.

    1. If the idTagInfo status is Invalid, your charging card is rejected.

    2. Your charging card's chip number (UID) is displayed after idTag. This is the number that must be whitelisted.

How to fix

First, you need to find out who is rejecting your charging card. Are you using just our software or is a third party also connected to your charger?

How to check if your charger is connected to another backoffice

Via the web portal

  1. Go to Chargers > (your charger) > Settings > Operators

  2. Check whether Plugchoice is the only operator, or there are more

    1. If it's just us, then your charger is only connected to Plugchoice.

    2. If there are more operators, check which one has the role Billing. This is the backoffice that decides whether your charge card may start a session.
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My charger is only connected to Plugchoice

Add your charging card in the app under Overview > Location settings (gear icon) > Authorization > Cards > Add card, or in the web portal under Locations > (your location) > Settings > Access & cards.

Managing charge cards

My charger is also connected to a 3rd party backoffice

If you're an employee or operating a public chargepoint, it's possible your charger is connected to another backoffice via our OCPP proxy (the Operators page). This means the charger is connected to two or more backoffices at the same time.

The operator with the Billing role then decides whether a card may start a session. Any charge cards you add to our platform must also be recognised and accepted by that 3rd party backoffice.

If your charger connects to another company's backend first and reaches Plugchoice through it, that company decides on cards. We give no support for that connection, so contact that company.

For employees charging at home

Ask your employer to whitelist your charging card.

For operators of a public chargepoint

If the charging cards of your visitors get rejected, you should check the following:

  1. Is the charger setup correctly?
    The chargepoint should be set to be publicly available. If your charger is set to a private mode where only certain charge cards are accepted, the public charge cards of your visitors will be rejected.
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  2. Are the cards covered by your roaming partner?
    If you are using backoffice provider A to set your charger public, and someone with charging card provider B wants to charge, the two must accept each other. This usually happens in two ways
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    1. Your provider and the visitor's provider must communicate with each other. If this is not the case, then:
      ​

    2. Your charger must be connected to a 3rd party roaming network that matches cards and chargers from multiple providers. If your charger or the customer's charging card is not in this same roaming network, the transaction is rejected.

Still no luck?

It's possible your charging card is being rejected because the charger itself is rejecting it. Check the settings of your charger and make sure any local whitelists are disabled.

Check your charger's manual or contact your charger's installer if you are not sure how to check this.

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