UK has a law (or similar) that you have to be able to pay with contactless on new charger or older ones above 50kw

You guess right. Unfortunately many of you around to drag down improvements for the younger generations.

EDIT: I read this comment as only wanting cash payment, which I find unreasonable. App use should be optional or non-existent, I agree (but connected infrastructure is necessary, just not having an app for each charging network)

im driving a ev for 2 years now and not even once used an app to pay. also i havent searched once for a charging station manually. (but that means that the car has internet access wich opens another can of worms. i really dislike that part since the car uses google services for that functionality and wish car manufacturers would allow alternative software for the infotainment system)

In the USA most exits have those signs. Most places that target travelers will have a large sign some place. Gas stations though are always right on the end of the ramp so they don't need a sign.

rest stops are a public good that won't have gas though.

If you want fast charging (which you usually do during a Road Trip, and only during a road trip) you usually need to pre-condition the battery, so driving by signs alone limits a lot the vehicles capabilities.