Guide
NFC Business Cards: How They Work, Cost & Specs
What is actually inside a tap card, which phones read it, how to encode and re-encode it, and what a run costs — with live prices from our own 30 mil PVC NFC cards.
Quick answer
An NFC business card is a normal printed card with a passive NTAG 216 chip laminated inside. Tap it against an unlocked phone and the phone opens the URL stored on the chip — your contact card, portfolio, booking page or review link. No app on either side, and the link can be changed later. Our cards are 30 mil PVC in white or black, printed in full color, monochrome or metallic, from a single card up to 1,000.
What's inside the card
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chip | NXP NTAG 216, NFC Forum Type 2, 888 bytes of user memory |
| Antenna | Etched coil sized to the CR80 card, laminated between the PVC layers |
| Frequency | 13.56 MHz, ISO 14443A — the same standard as contactless payment cards |
| Read range | About 1 inch (25 mm) from a phone; deliberately short so taps are intentional |
| Card body | CR80, 3.375" x 2.125", 30 mil, white or black PVC |
| Power | None — the reading phone energizes the chip |
Phone compatibility
| Device | Reads NFC cards? |
|---|---|
| iPhone XR and newer | Yes — automatically, screen on and unlocked |
| iPhone 7 – iPhone X | Yes — via the NFC Tag Reader in Control Center |
| iPhone 6s and older | No NFC reading |
| Android with NFC (nearly all since 2015) | Yes — automatically, if NFC is switched on in settings |
Tap point matters: on iPhone it is the very top of the back of the phone; on most Android handsets it is the upper middle. If nothing happens, slide the card slowly across the back of the phone.
What to put on the chip
- A short link you control. Best practice. The chip holds a permanent URL, and you change where that URL redirects whenever your offer, site or role changes.
- A digital contact card (vCard). Saves straight into contacts without a network connection, but it is frozen at the moment of encoding.
- A review or booking link. Google review links, Calendly, a menu, a payment page.
- A Wi-Fi credential or plain text. Useful for guest networks and event badges.
We can encode your URL before shipping, including a different link per card for a team rollout — send the list with your order or request a quote. If you prefer to do it yourself, any free NFC writer app on Android or iPhone will write the chip in a few seconds.
What NFC business cards cost
Live prices, straight from our product pages. Printing style (monochrome, full color, metallic) and single vs dual sided move the price within each run size; the figures below are the starting price for that quantity.
NFC business cards — 30 mil PVC
| Quantity | Printing (from) | Per card |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| 5 | $29.00 | $5.80 |
| 10 | $38.00 | $3.80 |
| 25 | $70.00 | $2.80 |
| 50 | $115.00 | $2.30 |
| 100 | $180.00 | $1.80 |
| 250 | $387.50 | $1.55 |
| 500 | $700.00 | $1.40 |
| 1,000 | $1300.00 | $1.30 |
NFC tune cards — 30 mil PVC
| Quantity | Printing (from) | Per card |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| 5 | $29.00 | $5.80 |
| 10 | $38.00 | $3.80 |
| 25 | $70.00 | $2.80 |
| 50 | $115.00 | $2.30 |
| 100 | $180.00 | $1.80 |
| 250 | $387.50 | $1.55 |
| 500 | $700.00 | $1.40 |
| 1,000 | $1300.00 | $1.30 |
Free US shipping on orders over $75. Below that, flat-rate shipping applies.
Designing an NFC card
- Build artwork at CR80 trim (3.375" x 2.125") plus 0.0625" bleed, 300 dpi minimum, CMYK.
- Keep critical text 0.125" inside the trim — cards are die cut with a rounded 1/8" corner radius.
- Add a small "tap here" cue. Most people have never used a tap card; a printed NFC mark on the back removes the hesitation.
- A QR code on the reverse covers phones without NFC and screenshots taken from a distance.
- Heavy metallic ink over the antenna area is fine — the antenna sits inside the card and is unaffected by printing.
NFC card vs QR code vs paper card
| NFC card | QR code | Paper card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed in person | Instant tap | Open camera, aim, tap banner | Manual entry later |
| Updatable after printing | Yes | Only with a redirect link | No |
| Works at a distance / on screen | No | Yes | n/a |
| Cost per card | Highest | Free to add | Lowest |
| Memorability | High — people react to the tap | Low | Low |
Common problems and fixes
- Nothing happens on tap. Screen must be on and unlocked; on Android, NFC must be enabled in settings.
- Works on Android but not iPhone. Move the card to the very top of the iPhone's back.
- Two cards read at once. Separate the cards — stacked tags collide and neither reads.
- Metal blocks the read. Metal wallets and card holders detune the antenna; remove the card first.
Order NFC cards
NFC business cards and NFC tune cards both print on 30 mil PVC, or start from the NFC card hub to compare options. Prefer a non-chipped card? Compare thickness and stock in the plastic business cards guide.
Frequently asked questions
How does an NFC business card work?
A thin NFC chip and antenna are laminated inside the card. Holding an unlocked phone within about an inch of the card powers the chip through the phone's own NFC field, the chip returns the short URL stored on it, and the phone offers to open that link. There is no battery, no pairing and no app.
Do NFC business cards work with iPhone?
Yes. iPhone XR and newer read NFC tags in the background whenever the screen is on and unlocked. iPhone 7 through X can read tags too, but only through the Control Center NFC reader. Android phones with NFC have read tags natively for years.
What is an NTAG 216 chip?
NTAG 216 is the NFC Forum Type 2 chip used in most premium NFC cards. It holds 888 bytes of user memory — enough for a URL plus a small vCard — and is readable by every mainstream phone. It can be rewritten thousands of times and optionally locked read-only.
Can I change the link on an NFC card after printing?
Yes, unless the chip has been locked. You can rewrite it with a free NFC writer app, or better, encode a short link you control so you can change the destination without ever touching the cards again.
How much do NFC business cards cost?
A single NFC business card starts at $15 and the per-card price falls steeply with volume. The live price table on this page is pulled from our real run sizes.
How long do NFC cards last?
The chip has no moving parts or battery and is rated for a 10-year data retention minimum, so the PVC card itself wears out first. A 30 mil PVC card survives a wallet the way a credit card does.
Will an NFC card work through a phone case or wallet?
Through most plastic, leather and silicone cases, yes. Metal cases, metal card holders and thick MagSafe wallets can block or detune the field — take the card out of a metal holder before tapping.
Are NFC business cards secure?
The chip is passive and stores only what you put on it, typically a public URL. It cannot read anything from the phone, has no location awareness, and only responds from roughly an inch away. If you want the contents fixed, we can lock the chip read-only before shipping.
NFC card vs QR code — which is better?
NFC is faster and feels premium in person: no camera, no aiming, no app. QR works at a distance, on screens and in print, and works on phones without NFC. Many customers print a QR on the back of the NFC card so either method works.