Partner Spotlight
Tap Electric
Article Published: Tuesday 10th February 2026
Powering a new CPMS model
How competitively priced, reliable EV chargers and exceptional support made VCHRGD the ideal hardware partner for Tap Electric
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Tap Electric
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EV charge point management systems (CPMS)
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Finding the right charge point manufacturers to compliment Tap’s driver-first CPMS - avoiding the high costs, long contracts, and hardware reliability issues associated with traditional, fee-heavy CPMS models
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VCHRGD competitively priced, highly reliable EV charging hardware, integrated seamlessly with Tap’s CPMS to reduce total cost of ownership, simplify installation and support, and deliver a smoother experience for drivers, installers, and site owners
Tap Electric | VCHRGD
A partnership that’s delivered:
Lower total cost of ownership for drivers and site owners
Legacy charger replacement without friction in real-world commercial projects
Installer advocacy and trust for both companies
A better driver experience
The Challenge: Delivering CPMS without compromise
As EV adoption continues at pace across workplaces, residential blocks, fleets, and semi-public locations, Charge Point Management Systems (CPMS) are under increasing pressure.
On one hand, there’s operators, installers, and site owners demanding flexible solutions. On the other, there’s drivers with the expectation of seamless EV charging experience. And both groups are looking for affordable soluions.
Yet much of the CPMS market still relies on traditional fee-heavy, contract-locked models. That’s monthly socket fees, long commitments, and complex support structures that slow adoption and make the chage point installation process unnecessarily cumbersome.
The team at Tap Electric model is the antitheseis of this, an approach to CPMS that focuses on high quality driver experiences and removing friction wherever possible.
The team had a challenge, how do they match their driver-first CPMS that is easy to use, cheaper to run, and scalable, without being held back by unreliable or expensive hardware?
The answer lay in finding a hardware partner that could match Tap’s philosophy, both technically and culturally.
Image credit: Tap Electric
Introducing Tap Electric: a by-design, driver-first CPMS
Tap is an Amsterdam-based EV charging software company with a clear mission to “make changing your car easy and affordable”
Everything in the Tap ecosystem is built from the driver outward. Its CPMS and driver app remove complexity for charger owners, installers, and fleets by offering:
High quality user experience that works for non-technical users
Flexible access, visibility, and tariff controls
No mandatory monthly socket fees or long-term contracts
24/7 in-house support for drivers and charger owners
Crucially, Tap’s business model flips the traditional CPMS approach. Instead of charging owners and installers recurring fees, Tap’s model is based on usage, keeping costs lower for everyone else and reducing any lack of adoption risk.
But this model only works if the hardware is reliable, easy to support, and competitively priced. Poor hardware would create support noise, frustrate drivers, and undermine the experience Tap is designed to protect.
As Andrew Collins, Tap’s Business Developer, put it during discussions: they don’t integrate with “just anybody.”
Discovering VCHRGD: A key strategic relationship
For Tap, selecting a hardware partner is a key strategic decision, with very specific criteria demanded:
Competitive pricing without unnecessary complexity
Proven, real-world reliability
Minimal support burden for installers and operators
Fast, human access to technical support when issues arise
Strong reviews, advocacy and trusted technical relationships
VCHRGD met those requirements head-on.
VCHRGD’s chargers are intentionally designed to meet evolving cost pressures without compromising on quality, aesthetics or reliability. Chargers are installer-friendly, OCPP-compliant and backed by UK-based technical support built upon right-first-time problem-solving principles.
And for Tap, one signal stood out above all others the lack of support calls required with VCHRGD hardware - an absence of noise that was proof that the hardware was doing exactly what it should - consistently, and reliably.
A partnership that delivers tangible value and real outcomes
The strength of the Tap | VCHRGD partnership is best seen in live deployments and asspciated outcomes, let’s deep dive…
1. Lower total cost of ownership
By combining Tap’s no-fee CPMS model with VCHRGD’s competitively priced chargers, customers can make significant savings compared with traditional CPMS providers that charge per socket and lock customers into long-term, often counter-productive contracts.
This makes EV charging viable for sites that might otherwise delay adoption, particularly workplaces, residential blocks, and mixed-use properties.
“Removing monthly software fees fundamentally changes the business case for customers - and removes barriers.”
Andrew Collins, Business Developer, Tap Electric
2. Legacy charger replacement without friction
In real-world commercial projects, legacy chargers were able to be replaced with VCHRGD hardware running on Tap’s platform, a seamless transition that solved long-standing issues around access control, charging issues, and load management.
The result:
Better control for site owners
Clearer tariffs and visibility
Improved driver experience
A solution that beat competitors on both price and performance
3. Installer advocacy and trust
Perhaps the strongest validation of the partnership comes from installers themselves.
Installers who were previously tied to other CPMS ecosystems are actively and confidently converting sites to the Tap | VCHRGD proposition. The reason is simple - fewer issues, faster resolution and a solution that aligns with how they actually work on-site.
With VCHRGD providing out-of-the-box hardware clarity and Tap reducing the software burden, installers spend less time firefighting challenges and more time delivering value.
“The reliability and holistic approach mean we rarely get support calls from the installation side.”
Andrew Collins, Business Developer, Tap Electric
4. A better driver experience
For drivers, the combination delivers what matters most:
Reliable chargers that work
Simple access and payment
Clear pricing and visibility
A support model that resolves issues quickly
Tap’s driver-first culture is reinforced by VCHRGD’s hardware performance, that’s the combination both businesses set out to deliver.
Shared values, shared direction
The partnership works because it goes beyond the commercial and the technical, pairing two companies who culturally, are a perfect mix.
Both Tap and VCHRGD are built around:
Simplicity: removing unnecessary complexity
Support: real people, solving real problems
Reliability: hardware and software that just works
Fairness: transparent pricing and flexible models
Looking ahead, the partnership is positioned to scale across workplace, fleet, residential block, and wider public charging, with mutually-held ambitions to deepen collaboration through shared insight, data visibility, and even more proactive, innovative charging solutions.
Tap | VCHRGD: A trusted partnership built
Tap trusts VCHRGD because its hardware does exactly what a driver-first CPMS needs it to do:
It’s competitively priced, without compromise
It’s reliable, proven, and low-maintenance
It reduces support noise rather than creating it
It’s backed by people who answer the phone and solve problems
For installers, operators, fleets, and property managers, that means lower risk, lower cost, and higher confidence.
For drivers, it means charging that simply works.
“We’re very selective about the hardware we integrate with. For Tap, reliability, ease of support, and a sensible price point are non-negotiable. VCHRGD consistently delivers on all three, which is why the partnership works so well.”
Andrew Collins, Business Developer, Tap Electric
“What makes this partnership work is how well it performs in the real world. Installers spend less time troubleshooting, customers aren’t burdened with unnecessary fees, and drivers get a charging experience that just works.”
Fraser Koefman, VCHRGD commercial director
Interested in joining our growing installer and reseller network?
Visit www.vchrgd.com or contact our team at sales@vchrgd.com to learn more about stocking the VCHRGD range or becoming an approved partner.