There's no single way to pay for public charging in the Balkans. Each network has its own app, and the charger in front of you may or may not take a bank card. Five minutes of preparation at home saves a lot of frustration at the charger.

Three ways to pay

The network's app. This is how most chargers here are used. You create an account, add a bank card, and start the charge from your phone by choosing the charger or scanning its QR code. The app shows the price before you start and sends a receipt when you finish.

A charging card (RFID). Many networks give you a card or key fob that you tap on the charger to start. The charge is billed to your account in the app. Handy where mobile signal is weak.

A bank card at the charger. You tap a contactless card or phone, as at a shop, with no account at all. EU rules (the AFIR regulation) require this on every new public charger of 50 kW or more built since 13 April 2024. Existing fast chargers on the main European routes must add it by 1 January 2027. Many older or slower chargers still don't take cards.

Don't count on paying by card at an older charger. Install the app of the network you plan to use, sign up and add a card before you set off — signing up at the charger, with one bar of signal, is the worst way to do it.

The main networks

Networks change quickly, so this isn't a complete list. These are the ones you'll meet most often along the main roads.

Bulgaria

  • Fines Charging — a large network along the motorways and in the cities, with its own app.
  • Eldrive — chargers across Bulgaria (and in Romania), many at Shell stations; the Eldrive app.
  • Electrip — at hotels, restaurants, petrol stations and retail parks, in Bulgaria and Greece.
  • Smaller networks at shopping centres and hotels, each with its own app.

Romania

  • Renovatio e-charge — one of the largest networks, used through its app or an RFID card.
  • PPC blue — fast-growing, with over 1,100 charging points in Romania; the PPC blue app.
  • MOL Plugee — at MOL stations, mostly along the A1 and A2 motorways; also usable through the E.ON Drive app.
  • Supermarket chargers (Kaufland, Lidl) and Tesla Superchargers, many of them open to other cars.

Prices in Romania are in lei, so you'll see them converted on your card statement.

Greece

  • DEI blue (PPC blue) — the largest network in Greece; the DEI blue app or an RFID card.
  • NRG incharge — the other large Greek network, with its own app.
  • Electrip, the same network as in Bulgaria, and smaller ones such as Protergia Charge.
  • Chargers at supermarkets (Sklavenitis, AB, Masoutis) and many hotels.

Roaming apps

Some apps let you charge at several networks with one account, as mobile roaming does for phones. They can save installing five apps, but coverage in the Balkans is patchy and prices are often higher than the network's own. Check in the app that the networks on your route are included before you rely on one.

How PlugNest helps

PlugNest shows each station's network and, where the network publishes it, the price per kWh. For Fines Charging stations it also shows live whether a connector is free right now, so you know before you pull in. Drivers' reports of "Payment broken" show up on the station too, so you can choose another charger.