How do I manage my charge key inventory in Monta Hub?

Charge key inventory is your stock of charge cards (RFID cards) that you have bought but not yet handed to a driver. You load the cards into Monta Hub once, and each card stays unassigned until a driver registers it. When a driver registers a card from your inventory, Monta creates the charge key on the driver's account and marks the card as claimed, so you can see which cards are out and which are still on the shelf.

A charge key is also known as an RFID card, RFID tag, charge card, key fob or token. They all refer to the same thing.

Early access: Charge key inventory is an Early access feature. An operator admin can turn it on for your operator under Release channel in Monta Hub, or you can ask your Monta contact.

Where do I find my inventory?

1. Open Charge keys in the main navigation.
2. Open the Inventory tab, beside Keys. The tab shows how many cards are in stock.

You see the Inventory tab if you can view all charge keys on the operator. Adding, editing, blocking and deleting cards need the same rights as managing charge keys. The tab is hidden while you view Monta Hub as an account member.

How do I add one card?

1. On the Inventory tab, click New.
2. Enter the Card UID: the ID stored on the card's chip, for example 38C58DB85F4A21.
3. Optionally enter the Printed ID: the number printed on the card. Drivers whose phone cannot scan the card use it to find the card instead.
4. Click Add card.

How do I import many cards at once?

1. On the Inventory tab, open the arrow next to New and choose Bulk add.
2. Upload a CSV or TXT file, or paste the card list. Click the template link to download an example file.
3. Check the preview. Rows with a problem are marked in red, and you can fix them directly in the grid before you import.
4. Click Import. The button shows how many cards are ready to import.

There is no limit on the number of cards per file. A file can be up to 10 MB, which is far more than 10,000 cards. Monta Hub sends the cards in batches and shows the progress while it runs.

File format

The file needs one column with the card UID and can have a second column with the printed ID:

identifier,printed_identifier
38C58DB85F4A21,A-10234
04A1B2C3,

• A header row is optional. Without one, the first column is read as the card UID and the second as the printed ID.
• Monta Hub recognises common header names, for example uid, rfid or card_uid for the card UID, and printed_id, card_number or external_id for the printed ID.
• Comma, semicolon and tab separated files all work.
• A card UID must be 8, 12, 14, 16 or 20 hexadecimal characters, or 15 digits. Lowercase letters, spaces and dashes are cleaned up for you.
• A printed ID can be up to 255 characters.

What happens to duplicates?

• A card UID or printed ID that appears twice in the same file is flagged in the preview, so you can fix it before importing.
• A card that is already in your inventory is skipped, not imported twice. You can safely run the same file again, for example after an import was interrupted.
• A printed ID that is already used by another card in your inventory is rejected for that row.

What do the statuses mean?

• Available: The card is in stock and can be registered by a driver.
• Claimed: A driver or account has registered the card. The Charge key column links to the charge key it became, and Claimed shows when.
• Blocked: You have blocked the card. Nobody can register it until you unblock it.

How do I edit, block or delete cards?

Open the menu on a card's row to:

• Edit printed ID: Change or remove the number printed on the card. Leave the field empty to remove it.
• Block or Unblock: A blocked card cannot be registered until you unblock it.
• Delete: Drivers can no longer register the card. You can add it again later.

To act on many cards at once, tick them and use the bar at the bottom of the table. Cards that the action does not apply to, such as claimed cards when you delete, are skipped.

The card UID cannot be changed after the card is loaded. To correct it, delete the card and add it again.

Blocking or deleting a card in inventory does not affect a charge key that was already created from it. To stop a claimed card from charging, block the charge key itself under Keys.

How does a driver get a card from my inventory?

You hand the physical card to the driver. The driver adds it as a charge key in the app, in the same way as any other card:

• Scan the card with their phone (NFC), or
• Type the card UID, or
• Type the printed ID from the card, for drivers whose phone cannot scan it. This option needs the latest version of the app, and white label apps get it with their next update.

Monta finds the card in your inventory, creates the charge key on the driver's account and marks the card Claimed. The same happens when you or an account admin add the card as a charge key on an account in Monta Hub.

A card can only be claimed once, and only by an account on your operator.

Can I allow only cards from my inventory?

Yes. You can restrict accounts so their members can only register charge keys that are in your inventory. This stops drivers from adding cards from another provider.

• For a type of account: Go to Settings, Account templates, and turn on Inventory-only charge keys for the account type, for example private accounts. This applies right away to new and existing accounts of that type.
• For one account: Open the account, and in the General settings card, under Charge keys, turn on Restrict to inventory charge keys.

An account is restricted if either setting is on. Turning off the account's own setting does not lift a restriction set in Account templates.

When the restriction is on and a member tries to register a card that is not in your inventory, the card is refused. The restriction only applies to members registering cards themselves. You can still add any card to an account in Monta Hub or through the Monta API. Cards from your inventory are claimed either way.

Can I load inventory through the Monta API?

Yes. The Monta API has charge key inventory endpoints under /api/v1/charge-auth-tokens/inventory to load cards in bulk (up to 1,000 cards per call), list them, and block, unblock or delete them. See the Monta API documentation.

Frequently asked questions

I want to move cards that drivers already use. Should I use inventory?
No. Inventory is for cards that are not handed out yet. Cards that already belong to a driver or account should be imported as charge keys on those accounts: go to Charge keys, open the arrow next to Add charge key and choose Bulk add. See How do I add and edit charge keys in Monta Hub?

Is there a limit of 20 cards per import?
No. Neither the inventory import nor the charge key import has a per-file card limit.

I don't see the Inventory tab.
Charge key inventory is in Early access and must be turned on for your operator under Release channel. You also need the right to view all charge keys on the operator.

A driver says their card was refused.
Check the card on the Inventory tab. If it is Blocked, unblock it. If it is Claimed, it is already registered on another account. If it is not in the list and the driver's account only allows inventory cards, add the card to your inventory first.