Webhooks are the simplest way to connect external authorisation and payment providers to Zaptec charging stations. When a user starts a charging session, Zaptec sends an HTTP POST request to your configured external provider. The provider responds by either approving or denying the session. If approved, charging begins — if not, it doesn’t.
This gives you a secure, flexible way to manage both access control and payments, without heavy infrastructure.
For more technical details check the official Zaptec Developer Documentation.
Integration steps
- Log into the Zaptec Portal.
- Go to the installation you manage with either owner or service permission.
- Go to the Authentication tab of your Installation. This is where you can select between alternative methods of communication.
- By default, Zaptec Native authentication is enabled (permissions managed directly in the portal).
- To use webhooks, select Webhook authentication.
Webhooks configuration parameters
Authentication URL
- This option allows you to configure the URL for an OAuth token service.
- If set, Zaptec will first obtain an OAuth bearer token from this URL before sending data to the webhook
- The token is included in the Authorization header of the request:
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}This option is required if webhook calls must be authenticated using OAuth.
Authentication payload
- If an Authentication URL is configured, Zaptec sends a request to obtain an OAuth token
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The payload must match your OAuth token service’s expected format and is posted with the content type:
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
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Example of a plain OAuth payload:
grant_type=password&username=AME&password={password} If an Authentication URL is not provided, the username and password from the payload are included in the Authorisation header using HTTP Basic authentication.
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For HTTP Basic authentication, the payload should be formatted as a query string:
username=AME&password={password}
Session start URL
- The webhook URL that Zaptec calls before authorising a charging session
- If the external provider denies the request, the session will not start
If no external authorisation URL is provided, ZapCloud’s internal authorisation will be used.
Session end URL
The webhook URL that Zaptec calls after a charging session ends (when the vehicle is disconnected from the charging station).
Disable authorisation when charging stations are offline
If enabled, charging stations will allow charging with any user or charge card when they lose connection to the control system.
This setup ensures seamless integration between Zaptec and external authorisation or payment providers, enhancing flexibility and security.
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