Cariqa, a Berlin-based payments platform, has secured €4 million (US$4.32 million) in seed funding to improve payment systems for electric vehicle (EV) charging in Europe.

The funding round was co-led by Anthemis and Contrarian Ventures, with participation from Earth, Anthemis Female Innovators Lab, Golden Egg Check, and Techstars.

The startup plans to use the funds to expand its operations across Europe.

It also aims to enhance its product and engineering teams and integrate its services with operators, vehicle manufacturers, and fleet providers.

Cariqa aims to address challenges in the fragmented EV charging market.

Cariqa has established partnerships with major operators including Pfalzwerke, EWE Go, Qwello, and Mer.

🔗 Source: Tech.eu

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Fragmented payment systems are a documented barrier to EV adoption

Cariqa’s focus on payment fragmentation addresses a critical industry bottleneck recognized by market analysts beyond just Europe.

The global EV charging landscape currently includes over 225,000 ChargePoint stations across 14 countries and more than 35,000 Allego charging points in Europe, each potentially with their own payment systems and user experiences 1.

This fragmentation creates significant friction for consumers who now expect seamless payment experiences across devices and channels, as highlighted in payment industry analyses 2.

The issue mirrors broader payment industry challenges where 31% of U.S. payments now occur through alternative payment methods, creating complexity for service providers to manage multiple systems while maintaining regulatory compliance 3.

As the global EV charging market (valued at $25.83 billion in 2023) continues to grow, solutions that address payment standardization could remove a significant barrier to mainstream adoption 1.

2️⃣ EV charging business models remain unsettled amid rapid infrastructure growth

The challenge Cariqa aims to solve reflects the industry’s ongoing search for sustainable business models in the charging ecosystem.