Field
The phone creates the short-range radio field that powers the passive tag.
What happens when someone taps the card.
NFC is a short-range handoff. The card supplies a small record—normally a URL. The phone decides how to open it. The website supplies the useful content.
Record
The tag presents the stored web link. This standard NFC record is called NDEF.
Prompt
The operating system recognizes the URL and presents an action or notification.
Page
The browser loads the destination over the internet after the user opens it.
A few centimeters, not across a room.
NFC operates at 13.56 MHz. The NFC Forum describes a typical range of up to 2 cm, while certified-compliant operation is tighter. A passive tag can be powered by the reader field, so the business card does not need a battery.
01 cm2 cm
Read performance is not a single guarantee. Phone antenna position, tag geometry, orientation, cases, and nearby metal all matter.
“Works with NFC” still has conditions.
Android supports standard NFC web-link records on NFC-equipped devices, but NFC can be disabled and hardware varies. Apple supports background tag reading on supported iPhones, with operating-state exceptions. Neither platform statement means every phone, case, tag position, or browser behaves identically.
- Wake or unlock the phone.
- Make sure NFC is available on the device.
- Hold the card still near the antenna area.
- Remove or reposition around thick and metallic cases.
- Use the QR code, when included, if the phone has no compatible NFC reader.
Two inputs, one destination.
When included, a printed QR code is not decorative redundancy. It gives older phones, disabled NFC, uncertain antenna placement, and desktop workflows a second route to the same web page. Both routes should be tested before delivery.
The card is not a location tracker.
A passive NFC business card does not continuously broadcast a person’s location. When somebody opens a destination, that website may receive normal request data such as time, IP-derived network information, user agent, and referrer—depending on how it is hosted. Analytics, lead capture, retention, and consent must be described separately from the physical card.
Read beyond the sales page.
Now inspect the product scope.
See what the base price means and which specifications still belong in the quote.
View the business card