Sick of using an app to charge your MG4, Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6 electric car? The most annoying thing about owning and charging an EV in Australia is about to be solved

One of the most annoying aspects about charging an electric vehicle via a public charger in Australia is about to be solved, with charging infrastructure firm Evie to introduce a new and much more convenient way to pay across almost all of its sites this year.

Among the biggest public-charging complaints are the number of apps required to access the different chargers, which are owned and operated by different companies, and the need to have mobile reception to commence the charging process – something that can be challenging at out-of-city locations.

But Evie says it has cracked the code to installing tap-and-go credit card readers on its chargers, a task it says was significantly harder than expected.

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It means users can simply tap their credit or debit card to start charging, without needing to download any apps or register any details.

"We are testing these at the moment. They are at Belrose on Sydney's north shore. There's a really good rule in business – make it easy for people to give you money, and everyone has been asking for a credit card reader," says Ed Lynch-Bell, Head of Emerging Technology at Evie.

Users can simply tap their credit or debit card to start charging, without needing to download any apps or register any details.

"We are the first in Australia to integrate them with the charger, we had to get a reader that was certified here, and obviously it's a high-security thing, because you're talking about payments.

"We're in pilot now. They're live at Belrose, and there will be four more pilot sites. We're ironing out some bugs, but we're not going to push them out until they're 100 per cent ready.

"We will have them on (almost) all sites this year. There are a few sites with legacy chargers that won't be able to be upgraded, but the other things we are doing this year is a big upgrade and expansion program, and potentially some of those legacy chargers get upgraded anyway.

The EVIE network is currently home to 206 sites, and an estimated 480 chargers.

"It's the number-one thing that customers ask for. It's an absolute no-brainer – every charging site in Australia needs a credit-card reader."

The EVIE network is currently home to 206 sites, and an estimated 480 chargers, but the company says it plans to double the amount of plugs on the ground this year, through a mix of expanding existing sites and activating new ones.