To make an NFC business card at home, buy a blank NFC sticker (an NTAG213 is enough), stick it on the back of a printed card, and write one URL record to it with a free app such as NFC Tools. The link should point to an online profile you can edit, not to your raw contact details. Test it on an iPhone and an Android phone before you hand it out.
What you need to make an NFC business card
An at-home NFC business card needs four things: a blank tag, a card to put it on, a phone with NFC, and a link worth sharing.
- Blank NFC tag. NXP’s NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216 chips are the common choice. NXP’s product page says they provide “full compliance to the NFC Forum Tag 2 Type technical specification”, so ordinary phones read them.
- Card. Your existing paper business card works, or any stiff card you print yourself.
- Phone that can write tags. Any Android phone with NFC turned on, or an iPhone with the NFC Tools app.
- Link. A web page with your details and a way to save them to Contacts.
Unsure which chip to order? NTAG213 vs NTAG215 vs NTAG216 compares them in detail.
Sticker, inlay or blank card: which build to choose
The three home builds differ mostly in thickness and in whether you can print on them. Pick the one that matches the card you already have.
| Build | What it is | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFC sticker | Tag with extra layers for color printing | Adding a tap logo to the back of a card | Thicker, so the card gets a bump |
| Wet inlay | Tag with adhesive and a liner, no artwork | Hiding the tag behind your own printed design | Can’t take color printing |
| Dry inlay | Bare chip and antenna, no adhesive | Factory-made cards | Not practical at home |
GoToTags’ inlay guide explains the split. Inlays “maintain a slimmer profile than NFC stickers, which incorporate additional layers for color printing.” Its glossary defines a wet inlay as “an inlay that includes an adhesive and a liner.” Dry inlays “remain on their substrate for embedding during manufacturing”, which rules them out for a kitchen-table project.
My take: Use a white wet inlay on the back of a paper card and print or write “Tap here” over it. A sticker leaves a bump; the inlay stays flat in a wallet, and the card still looks like your card.
How to write your link to the tag
Writing the tag takes five steps in NFC Tools. These are WakDev’s own steps for writing a link:
- Open NFC Tools and go to Write.
- Tap Add a record, then choose URL / URI.
- Paste your profile link and tap Validate.
- Tap Write. The button also shows how many bytes the record uses.
- Hold the tag against your phone and wait until the app confirms the write.
On iPhone, you start the scan yourself in the app before holding the tag near the phone. That’s how WakDev’s NTAG213 page describes writing on iOS. The full walkthrough, with screenshots, is in our guide on how to write a URL to an NFC tag.
Write one record only. Apple’s Core NFC tech talk states “Only the first discovered URL record in the NDEF message will be processed.” Extra records are wasted on an iPhone.
Which link to put on the card
Put a link to a profile page on the tag, not your phone number or a vCard. A link can change behind the scenes. A tag you’ve already handed out can’t be rewritten.
The chip itself is durable. NXP rates the NTAG21x family for “Write endurance 100,000 cycles” and a “Data retention time of 10 years.” The weak point is the information. Your job title, number and company change faster than that.
With QRCard, the link is your vanity URL, qrcard.in/c/yourname. It’s short enough for an NTAG213, which WakDev says holds “a URL of around 130 characters.” When someone taps the card, the page opens in their browser with a Save Contact button that gives their phone a .vcf file. Edit your profile later and every card you’ve already given out shows the new details. The features page lists what the profile includes.
The limitation: QRCard doesn’t sell NFC cards or tags. You buy blank ones yourself and write them as shown above.
How to test your NFC business card
Test the card on both an iPhone and an Android phone, because they read tags under different conditions.
On iPhone. Apple says background tag reading works on “iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR” and newer models while the screen is on. It pauses when “a Core NFC reader session is in progress, Wallet or Apple Pay are in use, cameras are in use, or the device is in Airplane Mode.” Close the camera before testing. Apple adds that for an ordinary web link, “Safari will handle all unregistered application links.”
On Android. Google’s NFC basics page says phones “are usually looking for NFC tags when the screen is unlocked, unless NFC is disabled in the device’s Settings menu.” Unlock the phone and check that NFC is on.
A newer Android change. The same Android page says that “Beginning with Android 17, scanning such a tag surfaces an ‘open link’ notification, requiring explicit user interaction.” The person taps that notification before your profile opens. That’s normal, not a broken tag.
Hold the phone close. Android’s docs describe tag scanning as working “at a very short range.” WakDev puts the NTAG213’s reach at “approximately 10 cm, depending on the antenna and reader.”
Lock the tag, or set a password?
Lock the tag only after you’ve tested it and you’re sure the link is final. WakDev warns that the lock bytes “can switch the memory to read-only irreversibly.” A typo in a locked tag means a new tag.
A password is safer. NXP lists “32-bit password protection to prevent unauthorized memory operations” on these chips, so strangers can’t rewrite your card but you still can. If your link is a profile you can edit, locking is less risky, because the link itself never needs to change.
Common mistakes with home-made NFC cards
Four mistakes account for most home-made cards that fail.
- Contact details on the tag instead of a link. Our post on NFC business cards and iPhone explains why a contact record on the tag fails on most iPhones.
- Testing only on your own phone. Try a friend’s phone with a different operating system.
- No backup. Not everyone has NFC switched on. Print a QR code with the same link next to the tap area. How to make a QR code for your business card covers size and placement.
- Locking before testing. Test, hand out one card, then lock or password the rest.
FAQ
Can I make an NFC business card without buying a special card?
Yes. Stick a blank NFC sticker or a wet inlay on the back of a paper card you already have, then write a link to it with a free writer app such as NFC Tools.
Which NFC chip should I buy for a business card?
An NTAG213 is enough. NXP lists 144 bytes of user memory, and WakDev says that holds a URL of around 130 characters, which is plenty for a profile link.
Can I write the NFC tag with an iPhone?
Yes. NFC Tools works on iPhone, but you start each scan yourself in the app, then hold the tag to the phone until the write finishes.
Should I put my contact details on the tag instead of a link?
No. Apple says only the first URL record on a tag is processed in the background, so write one link to a page that offers a Save Contact button.