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The problem is that the card reader will be by far the most expensive part of the charger, plus the service fees for using the payment network.

I agree that having 5 apps and needing a phone is bad, but the cost of the card reader will be passed onto you and less chargers will be available.

An NFC-based solution which worked with a single card or a phone would have been better.

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Can you elaborate on that? I can get a credit card reader for almost nothing that connects to my cell phone in the us from stripe or whatever for a business. In this case, for outdoor equipment and open to the public, it has to be hardened, has to connect to a network, probably has to have a small display or at least buttons. So should be under $1,000 maybe. But installing the high capacity electric line probably costs way more than 20k, installing conduit, buying the chargers costs way more. Service fees are handled by slightly increasing the cost, which every business in the world that takes credit cards somehow withstands.

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