Cards, tokens and access

A charge has to be authorised: the station needs to know that this driver may charge, and who will pay. On the platform that comes down to tokens, usually carried on a charge card.

Token

A Token is the identifier that authorises a charging session. It is the thing an EVSE checks. A token carries:

a UID, the RFID value encoded on a card or tag, read when it is tapped,
a contract ID, the identifier (an OCPI/eMA-ID) that ties the token to its eMSP so authorisation requests route to the right place,
a visual number, the human-readable number printed on the card.

When a card is tapped, the station reads the UID and sends an Authorize request. If the platform recognises the token and it is valid, the charge is allowed to start. Tokens are also what make roaming work: they are shared with other operators so a driver can charge off-network, which the roaming section covers.

Charge card

A Charge Card and a Token are separate things: the card is what the driver holds, and the token is the identifier attached to it that actually authorises charging. Every card carries a token, but a token can exist without a card.

Physical cards and tags are RFID cards or key fobs. They ship pre-encoded with a UID; ordering one takes a matching token from stock, binds it to the driver's account, and posts the card out.
Virtual cards are a token with no physical card. Use one to onboard an RFID card a driver already holds, or for app-based charging where no card is needed.

Owned by the Account

Charge cardphysical or virtual

Tokenwhat actually authorises a chargeUIDContract IDVisual number

Every card carries a token. A virtual card is a token with no physical card.

Where a card can charge

Two things decide where a driver's card works, and neither is set on the card itself.

Roaming reach. A card can charge anywhere the platform reaches over the roaming network. That is the default extent of where it works.

Charging restrictions. On top of that, an eMSP can narrow where and when a driver may charge, with rules that apply as the charge is authorised:

a schedule, allowing charging only on certain days and times,
a set of allowed countries,
and networks to allow or block, by operator.

Restrictions are grouped and inherited: a driver takes the rules of their charging-restriction group, or their fleet's default, or the account's. This is a newer capability, currently in preview.

Do not confuse this with access control on the operator side. That is a station operator deciding who may charge at its stations; charging restrictions are an eMSP deciding where its drivers may charge.