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    NFC business card or QR code: which one?

    Answer four questions: the test tells you which card suits you.

    1. Where do you meet your contacts?

    2. Are you willing to buy a card?

    3. Do your contact details change?

    4. Who are the people you meet?

    Your result

    Answer the 4 questions: the recommendation shows here, with the reasons.

    In short: a QR code is free and almost every phone can read it; an NFC card is faster face to face but costs money and needs a compatible phone.

    NFC business card or QR code: the short answer

    NFC business card or QR code: for most freelancers and small businesses in France a QR code is enough, and an NFC card only pays off if you meet a lot of people face to face. The test above settles it in four clicks: where you meet people, budget, how often your details change and what phones your contacts carry. A QR code is free to create, prints on any card and is read by the camera of almost every phone. An NFC card opens with a simple tap, at 4 cm or less according to the Android documentation, but only on an iPhone XS or later or an Android phone with NFC switched on, and you have to buy it, sometimes with a subscription. Example: an estate agent handing out ten cards a day at viewings saves time with an NFC card that also carries a QR code; a consultant who prospects by email gains nothing. The limit of any smart card: it depends on the link stored in it and on the service hosting the profile.

    The comparison, point by point

    NFC cardQR code
    GestureTap the card on the phoneOpen the camera and frame the code
    DistanceA few centimetres (4 cm or less per Android)As long as the code is sharp on screen
    iPhoneNo app needed from iPhone XS, phone in useBuilt-in Camera app
    AndroidIf the phone has NFC and it is switched onCamera app or Google Lens
    Usual contentA link to an online profileThe contact itself (vCard) or a link
    Remote useImpossibleYes: email, video call, poster, slide
    CostBuying the card, sometimes a profile subscriptionFree to create, printed on a normal card
    Edit laterYes if the chip points to a link you manage, or is not lockedYes for a link; no for a vCard

    We do not quote prices: they vary widely between sellers (card material, custom design, subscription included or not) and change often. Compare the total cost over two or three years, subscription included, and check what happens to the card if you stop paying.

    How an NFC business card works

    An NFC card holds a chip and an antenna, with no battery. The phone powers it through its own radio field when you bring them close together. The chip stores only a few hundred bytes, enough for a link and rarely more. In practice almost every NFC business card therefore holds a web address that opens an online profile.

    There is a technical reason on the iPhone side: Apple's documentation says background reading looks for a URI record on the chip and opens that link. A link to an online profile is therefore the content that works on iPhone and Android alike.

    Reading conditions matter too. On an iPhone, background reading only happens while the phone is in use, and not while the camera or Apple Pay Wallet is open, or in airplane mode. On Android, the phone looks for tags when the screen is unlocked and NFC is on, and not every model has an NFC chip; Google's help says to search for NFC in Settings and switch it on. In all those cases nothing happens, which is why a QR code on the card is worth printing too.

    The QR code: real strengths and limits

    The QR code, defined by the ISO/IEC 18004 standard, is read by the camera built into iPhones and most recent Android phones. It is free, prints on an ordinary card, and can hold either the full contact card (a vCard QR code, readable offline) or a link to an online profile that you can edit after printing.

    Its limits are well known: you have to frame the code, which takes a few seconds longer than an NFC tap; a code that is too small or too dense reads poorly; and a vCard code cannot be updated. To start without buying anything, a QR code on a printed business card is enough.

    Frequently asked questions

    Does an NFC business card work with every iPhone?

    Apple says background tag reading, without opening any app, is supported from the iPhone XS onwards. The iPhone has to be in use, and reading is paused while the camera or Apple Pay Wallet is open, or in airplane mode. On an older model, the QR code printed on the same card takes over, which is why we recommend printing both.

    Do people need an app to read my NFC card?

    No, not on an iPhone XS or later, nor on an Android phone with NFC, as long as NFC is switched on: the Android documentation says the device looks for tags when the screen is unlocked. The phone then shows a notification or opens the link stored in the card directly, usually your online profile.

    Can I reprogram an NFC card to change the link?

    Yes, as long as the chip has not been write-locked. An NFC writing app on a phone can store a new address in a few seconds. Some cards sold with an online service are locked, so the link can only be changed through the seller, sometimes for a subscription fee. Ask before you buy, especially if you might leave France and change numbers.

    What happens to my NFC card if the company hosting my profile shuts down?

    The chip usually holds a web address that opens your profile on the seller's platform. If that service closes or your subscription lapses, the card opens a blank page or an error. To avoid this, choose an unlocked card and point it to an address you control, such as your own website or a page whose link you keep.

    Can someone read my NFC card without me noticing?

    They would need to hold a phone within a few centimetres of the card: the Android documentation gives 4 cm or less. And the chip only holds what you chose to share, in practice a link to your online card. It is not a bank card, so there is no PIN and no sensitive data to steal from it.

    Sources

    More tools: email signature and business card