An NFC card and a QR code both take a customer to a link. The difference is what the customer has to do: with a QR code they open the camera and frame the code; with an NFC card they just hold their phone over the card.
Side by side
- What does the customer do? NFC: holds the phone over the card. QR: opens the camera and frames the code.
- Speed: NFC opens in one tap. QR takes a few seconds and depends on light and angle.
- Which phones? NFC: iPhone XS and later, and Android phones with NFC. QR: almost every smartphone with a camera.
- Can it be read from a distance? NFC is read from a few centimetres only. A QR code on a poster or screen can be read from further away.
- Look: NFC sits as a neat card or stand. A QR code is a pattern that takes up space in print.
When NFC is better
- When the customer is already next to the card: counter, table, waiting area.
- When you want the action done in one tap: a review, a follow, copying an IBAN.
- When you want a clean look.
When QR is better
- When the code is read from a distance: posters, windows, screens.
- When you also want to reach phones without NFC.
Both together
The way to reach everyone is to use both: phones with NFC tap the card, the rest scan a QR code nearby. Both can open the same link.
