Contactless business card, defined.
A contactless business card is one you share without handing over anything: the other person scans a QR code, taps their phone on an NFC chip, or opens a link, and your details appear on their screen to save. The word covers the method, so a contactless card can be a phone screen, a Wallet pass or a chipped card.
Make your free cardA free Apple Wallet business card, in about a minute
- What “contactless” means here
- Nothing changes hands. It does not always mean NFC, though some sellers use the word only for chipped cards.
- Hardware needed
- None for a QR code or a link. An NFC tap needs a chipped card or tag on your side and NFC switched on in their phone.
- Where it lands
- On a web page in their browser, or straight in their contacts if the code holds a vCard.
Four contactless methods, and their small print.
Every method opens the same card. Pick by what you can count on the other person’s phone to do.
| Method | What their phone needs | Where it struggles |
|---|---|---|
| QR code on your screen or pass | A camera, which every smartphone has | Very dense codes in dim light |
| NFC tap | An NFC phone in use (on Android, NFC switched on); on iPhone, an iPhone XS or later reads tags with no app | Phone cases, and people who do not know where their reader is |
| Link in a message | Nothing; it opens in the browser | You need their number or handle first |
| NameDrop | An iPhone on one side; an iPhone or recent Apple Watch on the other | Any Android phone |
iPhone background tag reading as Apple documents it; NameDrop requirements from Apple’s Personal Safety guide. Both read October 29, 2026.
What happens after the scan.
A contactless card can work in both directions. This is the swap Cardr runs, drawn from the real pieces.
You show it
A QR on the phone already in your hand. No app, no signal needed for the pass itself.
Your card opens
Their camera opens your page in the browser they already have, on any phone. No app, no account.
They can send theirs back
They save you to their contacts, then can send you their name and email or number. This is the reversal.
The follow-up is drafted
Written from what you talked about, then chased before they go cold.
Contactless does not have to mean a chip.
Card sellers often use “contactless” to mean an NFC card, because that is the product they ship. The chip in one usually stores just a web address; tapping it opens the same digital card a QR code opens. If you like the tap, a chipped card is a good object to carry. If you do not want to buy hardware, a QR on your phone is just as contactless. More in NFC vs digital business card.
Cardr sells no NFC cards. If you already own one, or any writable NFC tag, you can write your card’s address to it and a tap opens your card.
-
QR code
- Their camera
- Your card
-
NFC tap
- The chip
- Your card
-
Link
- A message
- Your card
-
NameDrop
- Apple devices only
- No card page
Where these facts come from.
Primary documents only: the standard, the platform’s own documentation or the chip maker’s datasheet. Each was read on October 29, 2026.
- Apple Developer: Adding Support for Background Tag Reading: “iPhone XS and later support background tag reading,” only while the iPhone is in use, using the first URI record on the tag
developer.apple.com/documentation/corenfc/adding-support-for-background-tag-readingRead October 29, 2026 - Apple Personal Safety User Guide: NameDrop: what NameDrop shares, and iOS 17.1 or watchOS 10.1 on both devices
support.apple.com/en-us/guide/personal-safety/ips97e16d3b1/webRead October 29, 2026 - NFC Forum: NFC Technology: five NFC Forum tag types that store NDEF messages; a “typical range of up to 2cm”
nfc-forum.org/learn/nfc-technology/Read October 29, 2026
Common questions.
What is a contactless business card?
A business card shared without handing over paper: by QR scan, NFC tap, link or a Wallet pass. The other person sees your details on their phone and saves them.
Do contactless business cards need an app?
Not for the person receiving one: a QR code or an NFC tap opens a web page in their browser. Whether you need an app depends on the product; a Wallet pass needs only the Wallet app iPhone already has.
Is a contactless business card the same as an NFC card?
An NFC card is one kind. Contactless also covers a QR code on your phone, which needs no hardware and works on more phones.
Do contactless cards work on Android?
QR codes and links work on any Android phone with a camera and a browser. NFC taps work when NFC is switched on. NameDrop is iPhone and Apple Watch only.
Contactless, with nothing to buy.
Your Cardr card’s QR sits in Apple Wallet, opened from the lock screen with a double-click of the side button when that setting is on, and any writable NFC tag you own can point at it too. Free forever.