NFC credentials
NFC tap cards, labels & inlays
NFC media that any modern phone can read with a tap: review and digital business cards, smart signage labels, product authentication stickers and equipment tags. Supplied blank or bulk-encoded with your URLs or records, in paper label, inlay and printable card formats.
For new deployments or authorised credential issuance. Existing secured cards are not copied.
What are NFC tap cards and labels?
NFC tap cards and labels carry 13.56 MHz NFC Forum Type 2 chips that any modern smartphone reads with a tap, no app required — with 144 to 888 bytes of user memory. American Key Cards supplies them as printable cards, adhesive labels and inlays, blank or batch-encoded and write-locked to your URLs with a per-unit manifest, quoted by volume.
Overview
About NFC tap media
Every phone sold in the last decade reads NFC chips natively — no app, no pairing, just a tap that opens whatever the chip holds. That single fact has built entire product categories: customer-review tap cards on restaurant counters, digital business cards that beat paper at networking events, smart signage that turns a poster into a link, and authentication tags that let a customer verify a product is genuine.
We supply the full NFC Forum Type 2 chip family across three memory tiers as printable cards, paper adhesive labels in every common die size, and wet or dry inlays for embedding into your own products — blank for your own encoding, or batch-encoded and locked to your URLs with a manifest file so each unit’s destination is on record.
Technical details
NFC tap cards, labels & inlays specifications
- Frequency
- 13.56 MHz (ISO/IEC 14443 Type A)
- NFC class
- NFC Forum Type 2 tag
- Chip options
- NFC Forum Type 2 chips in 144 B, 504 B and 888 B memory tiers
- User memory
- 144 B, 504 B or 888 B depending on chip tier
- UID
- 7-byte factory-programmed UID
- Phone compatibility
- Readable by any modern smartphone with a tap — no app required
- Label sizes
- Round, square and rectangular dies from 22 mm to 45 mm
- Encoding
- Blank, or batch-encoded and locked with your URL or record
Available configuration
Choose the form factor after the technology
Where it fits
Common NFC tap media applications
Review & social tap cards
Counter cards and stickers that open your customer-review page or social profile in one tap — the highest-converting review ask there is.
Digital business cards
Printed cards carrying a contact page or vCard link, updated server-side whenever your details change.
Smart signage & marketing
Posters, table tents and shelf labels that resolve to menus, promotions or booking pages, swapped remotely without reprinting.
Product authentication & info tags
Inlays embedded in products or packaging linking to authenticity checks, manuals or registration.
Before you order
How to order NFC tap media correctly
- Memory tier is the key decision
A URL fits comfortably in the smallest tier, which is why it is the volume default. Choose a larger tier when your record is genuinely larger — vCards with photos, custom NDEF payloads.
- Locking is permanent by design
Batch-encoded tags can be write-locked so nobody re-points your review card somewhere unpleasant. Locked means locked forever — confirm the URL before we press go.
- Surface matters for labels
Standard labels die on metal surfaces; the RF shorts out. Tell us where labels will live and we quote on-metal construction when needed.
Questions we actually get
NFC tap media FAQ
Do customers need an app to use these?
No. Every modern smartphone reads NFC chips natively — a tap triggers the link like a scanned QR code, minus the camera fumbling. QR can be printed alongside for maximum reach.
Can you encode a different URL on each unit?
Yes — unique-per-unit encoding with a CSV manifest mapping each tag UID to its URL, which is how loyalty, authentication and per-location signage programs are built.
Can I re-use or re-encode the tags later?
Unlocked tags, yes, with any NFC-writing phone app. Locked tags, no — locking is the anti-tamper feature. We encode and lock only after you confirm final destinations.
Are these the same as access-control cards?
Different job. This is open NFC media for links and data; it is not a secure door credential. If you actually need door access, our 13.56 MHz smart card and encrypted card lines are the right shelf.
Need help identifying the technology?
Send a photo of the credential and the reader model. We'll identify the format before we quote a compatible product.
Lifetime parts & workmanship guarantee on every card