EV Payments Specialist, Paythru, Enters American Market

EV payment specialist Paythru has announced the appointment of Sam Sockwell as Executive Vice President, Americas, strengthening its leadership team as it expands into the North American market.

Paythru is a UK-headquartered payments technology company that simplifies payments for EV charge point operators. Its platform enables operators to accept card, mobile, and Plug & Charge payments through a single system, reduces transaction failures to near-zero, and simplifies settlement and reporting. The company already supports live EV charging deployments and EV fleet payment schemes in the UK, including as the payments provider for the Duracell E-Charge charging network.

Sockwell brings over 27 years of B2B infrastructure experience, including launching and leading CBRE’s EV charging infrastructure division in the Americas. There, he developed charging solutions that set new benchmarks in transaction and facility management, and achieved over $150M in annualised revenue with double-digit profit margins.

Through this experience, Sockwell brings first-hand insights into how payment reliability impacts utilisation, revenue, and site economics, as well as how enterprise buyers evaluate total cost of ownership when making large-scale infrastructure investments. These will be critical in supporting Paythru’s rapid growth.

The expansion also comes at a key time for the U.S. EV charging market, as the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program is driving new standards for accessible, reliable, and interoperable charging. Paythru enables operators to deliver open payment experiences, including contactless card payments, while aligning with these emerging requirements.

As EVP Americas, Sockwell will lead Paythru’s commercial presence across the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. He will work directly with charging operators, fleet owners, and mobility platforms to deploy payment infrastructure that meets the operational and economic realities of running EV charging networks at scale.

Sockwell’s appointment reflects Paythru’s belief that the next phase of EV growth in the Americas will be won or lost on the quality of the payment experience. As charging infrastructure expands rapidly, operators are increasingly focused on utilisation, revenue reliability, and the total commercial performance of their networks – exactly where Paythru’s platform is designed to deliver.

Sockwell says: “The US market is at an inflection point. The hardware buildout is well underway, but a driver can still arrive at a charger and not be able to pay. That’s not just a user experience issue; it’s lost revenue for operators. Payments are becoming one of the defining factors in whether charging networks succeed or fail.

“Enterprise buyers understand margin. They understand total cost of ownership. And they are starting to understand that a poor payment experience directly impacts utilisation and revenue.

“What drew me to Paythru is that it was built for this problem. It’s a platform that understands how charging networks generate revenue and gives operators the tools to turn payments from a source of friction into a competitive advantage. The Americas market is ready for that conversation, and I’m excited to lead it.”

Keith Brown, Founder and CEO of Paythru, says: “Sam brings exactly the credibility that opens doors in the North American enterprise market. His background in managing Fortune 500 relationships and scaling infrastructure businesses means he speaks the language of the operators and fleet owners we are targeting. He understands how they think, how they buy, and what they need.

“The Americas represent a strategically important market for Paythru. Charging networks are expanding fast, and the pressure on operators to perform commercially is intensifying. Sam is the right person to take our platform to that market and show operators what best-in-class payment infrastructure can do for their business.”

With Sockwell leading its Americas operations, Paythru continues to build the leadership team and market presence to deliver on its mission: making EV charging payments seamless, reliable, and commercially powerful for operators worldwide.