As more residents switch to electric vehicles, apartment communities face a practical question: how to give every EV owner easy access to shared chargers, while keeping payments fair and records clear. The closed wallet model answers this by letting the community run charging privately, from one Charging Management System (CMS). This guide explains what a closed wallet is, how it compares with the traditional app-based approach, and exactly how it works in Plugzmart CMS, step by step.
What is a closed wallet, in simple words?
A closed wallet is a prepaid charging balance that works only inside one apartment community. Residents add money to it through their apartment association, and the cost of each charging session is taken from that balance automatically.
Think of a prepaid canteen card at an office or college. Money is loaded once at the counter, and every meal is deducted from the card until it needs a top-up. The card works only in that canteen. A closed wallet works the same way, but for the EV chargers inside an apartment complex.
In Plugzmart’s Charging Management System (CMS), the closed wallet is the feature that makes this possible. The CMS keeps each resident’s wallet balance, controls who can use the community chargers, calculates the cost of every session, and records all of it in one place.
Why apartment communities need a private way to charge
Charging at an apartment is different from charging at a public station. The chargers are shared by residents, paid for by the community, and run on the building’s electricity. That raises everyday questions: who is allowed to use the chargers, who pays for the electricity each person uses, and how the association keeps track of it all.
Without a system, associations often fall back on shared notebooks, spreadsheets, or splitting electricity bills by guesswork. That leads to disputes, unpaid usage, and chargers being used by people outside the community.
A closed wallet solves these problems together. Only approved residents can charge, each resident pays only for the energy they use, and every session is recorded automatically.
Traditional approach vs modern approach in private communities
Inside apartment communities, EV charging has moved from a self-service, app-only model to one managed by the community itself. Both work, but they suit different people.
The traditional approach: every resident manages their own charging
This follows the same model as public charging networks, applied inside a private community.
- Each EV user downloads the charging app and creates their own account.
- The user tops up their own wallet in the app, using UPI, a card, net banking or another digital payment.
- The user finds the charger on the app’s map, plugs in, and starts the session from the phone.
- Charging progress, costs and history are visible only to that user, in their own app or dashboard.
This works well for residents who are comfortable with smartphones and digital payments. But it leaves the community with no central view of who is charging, and it shuts out residents who cannot or prefer not to pay digitally.
The modern approach: the community manages charging through a closed wallet
With a closed wallet in Plugzmart CMS, the apartment association or community members run charging for everyone from one CMS dashboard.
- The association keeps a resident charging group of every household that owns an EV.
- Each resident pays the association the amount they want to add, in cash or by any digital method.
- The association tops up that resident’s wallet in the CMS dashboard by the same amount.
- The resident plugs in and starts charging. The cost is deducted from their wallet automatically.
- Every session and every transaction is recorded in the transaction history, visible to the association and the resident.
- All of the day’s charging sessions are settled daily, with the settlement available the next day.
Who benefits most from the modern approach
- Elderly residents. Many older people find UPI, cards and bank transfers difficult. With a closed wallet, they can simply hand cash to the association and have their wallet topped up, then charge like everyone else.
- Residents who do not want to wait for invoices. Because sessions are settled daily and appear in the transaction history by the next day, nobody needs to wait for a monthly bill to know what they spent.
- The association. One dashboard shows every resident’s balance, sessions and payments, replacing registers and spreadsheets.
- Residents without smartphones. With an RFID card, charging is as simple as tapping a card. Elderly residents can pay in cash and charge with a card, without using any app.
How closed wallet charging is set up in Plugzmart CMS
The apartment association, or whoever manages charging for the community, sets this up once from the Plugzmart CMS dashboard. The CMS then becomes the single place to manage chargers, residents, wallet balances, charging sessions, tariffs, revenue, invoices and settlements.
- Add the community’s chargers. The charging stations installed in the apartment complex are connected to Plugzmart CMS, so they can be managed from the dashboard.
- Set the tariff. The association decides the charging rate, for example a price per unit of electricity (kWh). The CMS uses this rate to calculate the cost of every session.
- Create a resident charging group. A private group is created for the community. Only users in this group can use the community’s chargers.
- Add residents to the group. Each approved resident gets a user profile and is added to the group. New residents can be added, and residents who move out can be removed, at any time.
- Credit opening wallet balances. When a resident pays the association, the administrator credits the same amount to that resident’s wallet in the CMS dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a closed wallet in apartment EV charging?
It is a prepaid charging balance that works only within one apartment community. Residents add money through the association, and Plugzmart CMS deducts the cost of each charging session from that balance.
2. Why is it called “closed” or “private”?
Because the wallet and the chargers are limited to the community. The balance cannot be used at public chargers, and people outside the resident group cannot use the community’s chargers.
3. How does a resident add money to the wallet?
The resident pays the apartment association, in cash, UPI or any other method the association accepts. The administrator then credits that amount to the resident’s wallet from the Plugzmart CMS dashboard.
4. How does a resident start charging?
By using the mobile app, an RFID card, or their assigned user account at any charger their group has access to.
5. How is the charging cost calculated?
The CMS multiplies the energy used in the session (in kWh) by the tariff set by the association, then deducts that amount from the wallet.
6. Who manages wallet balances?
The apartment administrator or association manages top-ups and balances through Plugzmart CMS.
7. Can a resident see how much they have used?
Yes. Each session is recorded with its date, energy used and amount deducted, so residents and the association both have a clear record.
8. What happens when the wallet balance runs low?
The resident pays the association again, and the administrator tops up the wallet in the CMS.
9. Can new residents be added later?
Yes. The administrator creates a user profile, gives charging permission, and adds the resident to the charging group from the dashboard.
10. Is this suitable for large apartment complexes?
Yes. It works for small buildings and large gated communities alike, wherever several residents share charging stations and need one central system to manage them.
11. Can residents who do not use digital payments still charge?
Yes. Residents, including elderly people who find UPI or bank transfers difficult, can pay the association in cash. The association tops up their wallet in Plugzmart CMS, and they charge like everyone else.
12. Do residents have to wait for an invoice to see what they spent?
No. Charging sessions are settled daily, so each day’s sessions are settled the next day and appear in the transaction history without waiting for a monthly invoice.
13. How is this different from using a public charging app?
With a public charging app, each user tops up and manages their own wallet digitally. With a closed wallet, the community manages wallets for all residents from one dashboard, accepts cash, and limits the chargers to residents only.
14. What are the benefits of charging with an RFID card?
An RFID card linked to a resident’s wallet lets them start and stop charging with a simple tap, without a smartphone, app or internet connection. Only cards issued to residents in the charging group work on the community chargers, and every session is deducted from the correct resident’s wallet.
