Use of GSA SmartPay® Charge Cards to Pay for Electric Vehicle Charging Pursuant to the “Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act” or “CHARGE Act”

GSA SmartPay Smart Bulletin No. 036

UPDATE:

Business Line(s) Affected

Purchase, Travel, Fleet, and Integrated

Introduction

This Smart Bulletin provides operational guidance regarding Public Law 116-160, the “Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act “ or “CHARGE Act.” This statute requires the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to issue guidance on the use of charge cards to pay for charging federally owned or managed Electric motor Vehicles (EVs) used for official Government business at commercial charging stations. Additionally, this bulletin provides guidance on the use of GSA SmartPay payment solutions for payment of rental car EV charging related to travel on official business. Note that unless otherwise indicated, the mention of specific commercial charging network names in this bulletin is for information purposes only, is not intended as an endorsement of any kind, and does not indicate a contractual relationship with GSA.

Summary

Participating agencies/organizations use GSA SmartPay charge cards to obtain approximately $30 billion in products and services annually in support of their missions through approximately 100 million purchase, travel, and fleet transactions. The CHARGE Act emphasizes the existing ability for agencies/organizations to use GSA SmartPay charge cards to pay for charging services for EVs at commercial charging facilities. At the time of this guidance being issued, GSA SmartPay contractor bank charge cards, including WEX and Voyager fleet cards, can be used to pay for charging services at ChargePoint, Inc. commercial charging stations. Other charging station networks currently only accept Visa & MasterCard branded cards through their respective payment apps and terminals. Certain EVgo chargers do include card readers for walk-up payments, but not all. As the electric vehicle charging industry continues to expand, the Center for Charge Card Management (CCCM) and our GSA SmartPay contractor banks will pursue additional relationships with charging station providers to increase access and acceptance at additional charging networks for federal agencies. Use of GSA SmartPay charge cards for both per transaction and charging subscriptions is permissible and consistent with agency policy, applicable charge card spending limit(s), the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and other applicable rules/regulations.

Action

Each Federal agency may, for Government-owned or managed EVs used in accordance with 31 U.S.C 1344, “Passenger Carrier Use,” (1) allow for the vehicles to be charged at a commercial EV charging station and (2) pay for that charging with a GSA SmartPay charge card. The type of GSA SmartPay charge card to be used (purchase, travel, integrated, and/or fleet) to complete the charging transaction must comply with agency policy. GSA SmartPay charge cards may also be used to pay for commercial rental car EV charging when an employee is in official travel status. Additional operational considerations for use of charge cards pursuant to the CHARGE Act are provided below:

GSA Leased Vehicles

• To enable the WEX fleet card for use at ChargePoint stations, the following options are available:
  • For agencies with at least one owned ChargePoint station, WEX accounts can be linked to ChargePoint RFIDs in the data portal or through the ChargePoint website. This action must be taken by the agency Fleet Manager(s).
  • For agencies/drivers that want to charge at public ChargePoint stations, contact GSA Fleet’s Alternative Fuel Vehicle Team at gsafleetafvteam@gsa.gov and provide EV tag number(s) and delivery location(s). GSA Fleet will provide the driver with ChargePoint Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) card(s) for the vehicle(s) linked to the vehicle’s associated GSA SmartPay fleet charge card. GSA Fleet EV commercial charging information resources includes charging station purchasing options and charging procedures at gsa.gov/evse.
• If an agency desires to use additional commercial charging station vendors beyond ChargePoint for GSA Fleet leased EVs, it must first contact the GSA Fleet Alternative Fuel Vehicle Team at gsafleetafvteam@gsa.gov.

Agency-Owned Assets

• Agencies are not limited to the use of ChargePoint charging stations for EV commercial charging of agency-owned assets. However, as stated above, Currently, ChargePoint is one of the few commercial charging vendors at the time of the publication of this bulletin accepting WEX and Voyager. For agencies with at least one owned ChargePoint station, a Fleet account may be set up with ChargePoint through their app or website. Further information on account setup for Fleet Card Managers can be found here.
• Voyager-specific account setup information can be found on the ChargePoint site under the Voyager Fleet Card Integration FAQs.
• Note that most commercial charging stations do not have credit card terminals to swipe or “dip” cards, but some EVgo charges do offer charge card terminals/readers. An account will first need to be established with the commercial charging network, typically through an app or website. The GSA SmartPay card account number and related information would be needed to establish the account. Most commercial charging networks offer payments on an individual and subscription basis. Often, an RFID token (“fob”) or card is required for use at the charging station to enable the transaction.
• RFID cards/keyfobs for use at commercial EV charging stations are available on GSA Advantage or the open market where not available through GSA.
• Agencies/organizations should be sure to confirm RFID/key fob acceptance with the desired networks before purchasing.

EV Rental in Travel Duty Status (TDY)

• If consistent with agency policy, GSA SmartPay travel charge cards may be used to pay for charging EVs rented while an employee is on TDY.
• Note that, as mentioned above, the employee may need to establish an account with the charging station vendor well in advance of their trip in order to receive the RFID card/fob.
• Also, rental car agreements should be consulted to determine if the rental car company requires the use of certain commercial charging networks.