NFC business card
The honest version: what the chip does, the two NFC cards we print, and what a tag you already own can do.
An NFC business card is a card with a chip a phone reads when it touches it. Our print shop makes two, in frosted plastic and black aluminium, with your card's address on every chip. Any tag you own can carry the same link.
What the chip actually holds
An NFC card holds a tiny chip with a web address written to it. Hold a phone against the card and the phone reads that address and offers to open it. That is the whole trick: it is a link, delivered by touch instead of by camera.
So the card is not where your details live. The details live at the address the chip points at, which is exactly what the QR code on a printed card points at as well.
That is why the link matters more than the plastic. Your card's link is what we write on the chip of the NFC cards we print, and you can write it yourself to any blank NFC tag or card you already own with one of the free tag-writing apps on your phone.
It is worth knowing what the tap costs you in reach. Every phone has a camera and can read a QR code. Not every phone will read a tag without being unlocked and held just so. A card with a code on it works for everybody; a tap is a nice extra for the people whose phones cooperate.
Other ways to hand over the same link
Each of these is a door on this site, and none of them needs a chip.
Create your free card
Your own link, your details, and a QR code that opens it. Free to start.
Create your free card→QR code business card
A square code on the paper card that opens your details on their phone.
QR code business card→Apple Wallet pass
Your card as a pass on an iPhone, beside their boarding passes.
Apple Wallet pass→
Business card maker
Type your details, pick a design, download a print-ready file. No account and no watermark.
Business card maker→Digital business cards
Your card on its own link, saved to a phone in one tap and changed whenever you like.
Digital business cards→What it costs
A tag you already own costs nothing more. This is what the card the tag points at costs.
From $0.99 a month. Free plan too.
One card on your own link is $0, for as long as you like.
Or $9.99 a year ($0.83/month).
See the plans in full →A tap card and a code on paper
Both open the same link; they differ in who can use them.
| An NFC tag | A QR code | |
|---|---|---|
| What it holds | A web address on a chip | A web address in a picture |
| Phones that can read it | Most recent ones, held close and unlocked | Any phone with a camera |
| What it costs | The price of the tag | Nothing; it prints with the card |
| Across a table | It has to be touched | It scans from a distance |
| Changing your details | Edit the card; the tag still points at it | Edit the card; the code still points at it |
How to make an NFC business card from a tag you own
Make and publish your card
Your own link is the address the tag will carry, so it has to exist and be live first.
Copy your card's link
Take it from your dashboard. It is a plain web address and that is all a tag holds.
Write it to the tag
Use any free NFC tag-writing app on your phone, choose to write a link, and paste yours in. Blank tags and cards are sold everywhere.
Keep a code as well
Print the QR code on the card too, so the people whose phones will not tap still reach you.
Questions about NFC cards
Do you sell NFC business cards?
Yes. Our print shop makes Frosted Transparent Plastic with NFC Chip and Anodized Black Matte Aluminum NFC, in packs of 25, 50 or 100, and writes your card's own address on every chip before sending them. The card the chip opens is still the part that matters: change it and every tap shows the change.
Can I use your card with an NFC card I bought elsewhere?
Yes, and that is the point. Write your card's link to it with any free tag-writing app and the tap opens your card.
Is NFC better than a QR code?
It feels better and it reaches fewer people. Every phone can read a code with its camera; a tap needs a phone that is awake, unlocked and held right against the card.
If my details change, do I need a new tag?
No. The tag holds your link, not your details, and your details live behind that link. Edit the card and the tag is right again with nothing to rewrite.
Does an NFC card work without internet?
The tap works, but it opens a web address, so the phone needs a connection to show the card. A wallet pass, once saved, shows your details and your code with no connection at all.
Related answers
The two things that do the same job, and the card behind both.
QR code business card
A square code on the paper card that opens your details on their phone.
QR code business card→Digital business cards
Your card on its own link, saved to a phone in one tap and changed whenever you like.
Digital business cards→Apple Wallet pass
Your card as a pass on an iPhone, beside their boarding passes.
Apple Wallet pass→Business cards
Every way to get one: design it free, print it, or carry it on a phone.
Business cards→Visiting Card Store
The maker, the templates, the digital card and the printed cards in one place.
Visiting Card Store→Start with the link, not the plastic
The card on your own link is the useful part. A tag is a five-minute job afterwards, with a tag you choose yourself.