What is an NFC business card?
One page, the whole topic: how the tap works, what is physically inside the card, what it costs in India, and how to pick a good one.
An NFC business card is a physical visiting card with an embedded microchip that transmits a web link to a smartphone via a tap - requiring no app and no battery. The link opens a live digital profile you can update at any time. Across Indian providers in Beeps Card's price index, basic PVC cards start from ₹499 to ₹1,249 and metal cards up to ₹5,000; a Beeps Card commercial system is ₹1,699 one-time plus a ₹199-299/year profile plan.
Sources: NFC Forum
₹1,699 card, once · profile from ₹199/year · your logo printed free · usually arrives in 7-10 days
A visiting card that opens a web page when tapped.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication - the same radio a phone uses to pay at a shop's card reader, in what the NFC Forum calls card emulation mode. A business card uses its other mode, reader/writer mode: the card hides a tiny chip, and when someone holds it near their smartphone, the phone reads the chip and opens the web address stored on it.
That address points to your live digital profile: contact buttons, services, products, UPI payments, booking links. Change your number or your role, and every card you have ever handed out shows the new details instantly. Nothing is reprinted, and nobody is handed a new card.
Tap-to-share in action - the profile opens in the phone’s normal browser.
Four things happen in one tap
The phone powers the chip
Holding the card near the phone fires up the chip using power drawn wirelessly from the phone itself. No battery involved.
The chip sends a link
The powered chip transmits the one web address stored in its memory - a few dozen bytes, nothing more.
The browser opens
The phone shows the link - as a notification on iPhone and on newer Android versions - and opens it in the normal browser. No app, no account.
The visitor acts
Save the contact, call, WhatsApp, browse the catalog, pay via UPI, or book a slot - whatever the profile offers.
Want the full technology story - induction power, what the chip stores, read range? Read how NFC business cards work.
What is physically inside an NFC business card?
Four layers, no electronics you would recognise - and nothing that ever needs a charger.
The PVC body
A plastic card body rather than paper, because the card has to survive wallets, pockets and handshakes for years. The chip and its antenna sit inside it.
The NFC chip inside
A passive chip and antenna inside the card. No battery, nothing to charge - it runs on power from the phone that taps it, and stores exactly one thing: a web address.
The printed QR code
A custom QR printed on the card pointing at the same profile. It is the fallback that makes the card work from any phone camera, including phones without NFC.
Your printed face
Name, designation and logo, printed to order. The card still works the way India expects a visiting card to work when it is handed over - the tap is a bonus, not a replacement.
Full specs - card size, material, finishes and delivery - are on the Beeps NFC card page.
The chip is the trigger. The profile is the product.
Two cards can carry the identical chip and be wildly different products - because what matters is what loads after the tap. A basic card opens a static contact page. A smart one opens a working business profile that the owner edits from a phone.
This is the single most useful lens for comparing cards in India: ignore the chip specs for a moment and look at a live profile from each vendor. That page is what your clients will actually see.
Contact actions first
Call, WhatsApp, email and save-to-phone buttons at the top - the reason someone tapped in the first place, one thumb away.
Products & services
Products with their prices, and your services listed, so the tap doubles as a sales conversation.
UPI payments
A Pay via UPI button opens the payer’s own UPI app with your UPI ID filled in, so an advance can be settled on the spot. On Pro.
Booking & leads
Free or paid appointments, and an enquiry form that lands in your dashboard, turn interest into a scheduled conversation.
Gallery & brochures
Photos, videos and a PDF brochure - the portfolio a paper card could never carry.
Analytics
A weekly visits chart, with visits by country, device and browser, on Pro - and a list of everyone who saved your contact on every plan.
What NFC business cards cost in India
From the sellers' own published prices in our price index, read on 27 September 2026 (30 September 2026 for TapMo; 11 October 2026 for Kurmah, Linkology and Vasuki NFC). Each end of each range links to the page it came from.
| What you buy | Published price | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Each seller's cheapest NFC card | Published priceFrom ₹499 (Kurmah and 3 more) [source] to ₹1,249 (TapOnn) [source], one-time | What to checkWhat opens after the tap, and who pays for the hosting - bundled into the card, included for some years, or a yearly plan. |
| Beeps Card and profile | Published price₹1,699 card, plus ₹199-₹299 a year for the profile | What to checkThe card plus a hosted, editable business profile: products, UPI, booking and enquiries. |
| Metal cards | Published priceFrom ₹999 (Linkology) [source] to ₹5,000 (Tapect) [source] | What to checkPremium feel. Check what opens after the tap - the metal does not change the page. |
For the full breakdown - one-time vs subscription, 3-year math, hidden charges - see NFC business card prices in India.
The middle row is ours: the card once, and a profile that takes enquiries, bookings and UPI.
Card ₹1,699 once · Profile from ₹199/year · Free delivery across India
Does it work on your phone? Short version: yes.
Apple says iPhone XS and later support background tag reading: a notification appears when the card comes near, and one tap opens the profile in Safari. No app, no setup.
Android phones are usually looking for NFC tags when the screen is unlocked, unless NFC is switched off in Settings. Not every Android phone has NFC, so check the spec sheet.
No NFC hardware? The QR printed on the card opens the same profile from the camera app.
Brand-by-brand details and tap troubleshooting: do NFC business cards work on iPhone and Android?
NFC vs QR vs paper - at a glance
| Capability | NFC card | QR code | Paper card |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the other person does | NFC cardTaps their phone on it | QR codeOpens the camera and frames the code | Paper cardTakes it, and types your number in later |
| Receiver needs an app | NFC cardNo | QR codeNo | Paper cardNo |
| Update after printing | NFC cardYes - edit the profile | QR codeOnly if dynamic QR | Paper cardNo - reprint |
| 3-year cost | NFC card₹2,596 (Beeps card and Pro) | QR codeNext to nothing to print, plus whatever hosts the page it opens | Paper cardDepends on how often you reprint - work it out in the cost calculator |
Beeps Cards print the QR on the card too - you get the NFC speed and the QR fallback in one. For the full head-to-head, see NFC vs QR business cards.
How to choose an NFC business card in India
Five questions that separate a good card from a chip in plastic - then two deep-dives: what "smart" actually means and the honest market comparison.
Ask what opens after the tap
The chip is the small part. A ₹499 card and a ₹1,699 card can hold the same chip - the difference is the profile behind the link. Look at a live profile before buying.
Check the phone story
Any card you buy should work on iPhone XS and later without an app, on NFC Androids, and have a printed QR for phones with no NFC. If the seller cannot show all three, keep looking.
Price it over 3 years, not 3 minutes
Compare total cost: card + any yearly fee + what happens when your details change. A "no subscription" card still pays for hosting somewhere, usually in a higher card price, so ask how many years are included.
Confirm you can update everything yourself
Changed your number, role, or company? You should be able to fix that from your phone in minutes - not by emailing support or ordering a reprint.
Buy from a real, reachable company
Your card points at a link someone has to keep alive for years. A registered business with a phone number and an address is a safer bet than an anonymous listing.
Go deeper on one question
How NFC business cards work
The technology in plain English - induction power, what the chip stores, read range, and the myths.
Read the guide →NFC business card price in India
Price ranges by card type, one-time vs subscription, the 3-year math and hidden charges.
Read the guide →iPhone & Android compatibility
What happens on iPhone XS and later, which Androids have NFC, and fixing taps that fail.
Read the guide →NFC vs QR business card
The honest head-to-head: speed, phone reach, print, cost - and why the answer is usually both.
Read the guide →NFC business card pros and cons
Seven real pros, seven cons the brochures skip, and three people who should not buy one.
Read the guide →Best NFC business card in India
The honest comparison of India’s options - Beeps included and labelled, criteria first.
Read the guide →What makes a business card "smart"
The chip is the dumb part. The four-rung ladder from bare link to full business system.
Read the guide →Digital business cards: the complete guide
The digital half of the system - types, contents, creation, sharing and cost. The sister guide to this one.
Read the guide →Buy: the Beeps NFC card
Specs, finishes and pricing for the card itself.
Read the guide →The digital visiting card
The profile that opens on the tap - usable on its own, with no physical card required.
Read the guide →NFC business card questions
Is an NFC business card safe to use?
Yes. The chip holds a single web address, not your contact list or any personal data, and NTAG chips can be locked read-only so a passing phone cannot rewrite it. Tapping it cannot install anything on the other person’s phone; it opens a normal web page, the same as clicking a link.
Sources: NXP Semiconductors, Apple Developer
Does an NFC business card need charging?
Never. The chip has no battery: in an NFC exchange one side can power the other, so the phone that taps the card powers the chip for the moment it is read. That is why it keeps working for years with nothing to maintain.
Sources: NFC Forum
What if the other person’s phone has no NFC?
Every Beeps Card ships with a custom QR code printed on it. Scanning the QR with the phone’s camera opens the exact same profile - so the card works even on phones that have no NFC hardware.
Can I change where my NFC card points later?
You rarely need to. The chip stores a link to your profile, and you change the profile, not the link, so the card never needs replacing because your details changed. If a card is lost, order a new one and choose the same profile for it to open.
How long does an NFC chip last?
The chip has no battery or moving parts, and NXP rates its NTAG chips for 10 years of data retention. The profile it opens stays live while your plan is active; if the plan lapses it shows a “not found” page until you renew, with nothing deleted.
Sources: NXP Semiconductors
Will it work through a phone case?
Usually, if the case is thin. NFC has a typical range of up to 2 cm, so a thick case, a metal or magnetic back, or a card left in a metal holder can stop the tap. Tap the card flat against the back of the phone, or scan the printed QR.
Sources: NFC Forum
Can one NFC card serve a whole team?
Each card is tied to one person’s profile. For teams, the Enterprise plan covers 20 virtual card profiles under a single subscription at ₹5,000/year, and each member can order their own card for their own profile.
Sources
Facts about NFC come from the NFC Forum, Apple's and Android's developer documentation, and NXP. Card prices are each seller's own published price, from our price index. Each was read on the date shown.
- NFC Forum, NFC Technology - Technical Overview. Checked .
- Kurmah, source page. Checked .
- TapOnn, source page. Checked .
- Linkology, source page. Checked .
- Tapect, source page. Checked .
- Apple Developer, Adding Support for Background Tag Reading. Checked .
- Android Developers, NFC basics. Checked .
- NXP Semiconductors, NTAG 213/215/216: NFC Forum Type 2 Tag compliant IC with 144/504/888 bytes user memory. Checked .