Learn how Plug&Charge works on Monta, why sessions are billed as roaming, what your charging stations need to support, and how to request activation.
Plug&Charge lets a driver start a charge session by plugging in, with no app and no RFID card. This article explains what Monta handles, how the sessions are billed, what your hardware needs to support, and how to request activation.
What is Plug&Charge?
Plug&Charge is a feature defined in the ISO 15118 family of standards. The vehicle holds an encrypted digital contract certificate, issued by the driver's e-Mobility Service Provider (eMSP). On plug-in, the vehicle presents that certificate over an encrypted connection, Monta validates it with the issuing eMSP via the roaming network, and the charge session starts.
Three things must line up: the vehicle, the charging station, and the charging backend. Monta is the backend.
What does Monta handle?
Monta operates the charge point operator (CPO) side:
- Gives each charging station its own digital identity and keeps its certificates valid.
- Installs and maintains the trust certificates the station needs to verify vehicles.
- Authorizes the charge session when a valid contract certificate is presented.
- Sends billing data to third-party eMSPs for invoicing the contract certificate holder.
Monta does not issue contract certificates to vehicles, so Monta is not the eMSP in this flow. Drivers bring a contract from another provider.
How are Plug&Charge sessions billed?
Every Plug&Charge session on Monta is a roaming session, because the driver's contract comes from another provider. Understand this before you offer it:
- The driver is billed by their third-party provider, not through a Monta wallet.
- You receive the roaming price agreed with that provider, not your own public tariff.
- You get no direct commercial relationship with that driver. No app sign-up, no RFID key, no subscription.
If you want drivers to charge automatically on your own tariffs and under your own brand, Plug&Charge does not do that today on Monta. Autocharge does, and it bills through the driver's Monta wallet.
Before you start
Confirm all of the following:
- Your charging station model supports Plug&Charge on Monta. Check the supported models list on the Monta website, filtered by Plug&Charge.
- Your charging stations are in Europe. Plug&Charge in North America is not supported yet.
- Your charging stations connect over Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 1.6. Plug&Charge on OCPP 2.0.1 is not supported yet.
- You accept that sessions are treated as roaming, as described above.
- Your drivers, or your customers' drivers, hold Plug&Charge contracts from their own providers. Without those, no session can start.
How do I enable Plug&Charge?
Activation is done by Monta, not in Hub. Follow these steps:
- Check your charging station models against the supported models list on the Monta website.
- Confirm each item in Before you start above.
- Contact your Monta Customer Success Manager and tell them which charging stations you want enabled.
- Agree a maintenance window with them. Activation installs certificates on the charging station and can restart it once or twice, depending on its firmware, so avoid busy periods.
- Monta activates certificate management on the charging station, then enables Plug&Charge authorization.
- Your Customer Success Manager confirms which charging stations are live.
Plug&Charge is enabled per charging station, not per site. A charging station can support both Plug&Charge and Autocharge where the hardware allows.
To confirm it works end to end, plug in a vehicle that holds a valid Plug&Charge contract and check that the charge session starts without any other action.
What if my hardware is not on the supported list?
The manufacturer has to complete interoperability testing with Monta first. Ask your Customer Success Manager to raise the request.
Can the certificate carry my own operator ID?
Yes, on request. By default the certificate carries Monta's operator ID, which is visible in the certificate.
Contact your Customer Success Manager if you want your own. It requires a separate certificate from the public key infrastructure (PKI) provider, and there may be a one-time fee.
FAQs
When will Monta offer the eMSP side of Plug&Charge and provision contract certificates?
No fixed roadmap yet, but the feature is under consideration. Let us know on the public roadmap if this is something you need. When this feature is finished, Monta will be able to install contract certificates directly in your users' vehicles, and Plug&Charge sessions can be handled in-network instead of as roaming.
Do drivers need to install or configure anything?
No. The vehicle authenticates itself. The driver plugs in.
Can one charging station offer both Plug&Charge and Autocharge?
Yes, where the hardware supports both. Each is enabled separately per charging station.
Is Plug&Charge required by regulation?
Offering automatic authentication is voluntary. Where a publicly accessible charging station installed or renovated from 1 January 2027 does offer it, the applicable European rules expect support for both ISO 15118-2 and ISO 15118-20. Contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss what this means for your network.
Can I enable Plug&Charge myself in Hub?
Not yet. Activation is done by Monta on request.
Why is my driver's session not showing on my own tariff?
Because Plug&Charge sessions are roaming sessions. See How are Plug&Charge sessions billed? above.