What happens when a prospect taps your card?
Something slightly different on each platform, and on Android from one version to the next. Up to Android 16, Android opens the page directly. Android 17 and an iPhone both present a notification the person must tap first. Knowing which is which is what stops you being caught out in front of someone you are trying to impress.
On Android
Up to Android 16, the phone reads the card and opens the address immediately, with no confirmation, and the page appears in a browser. From Android 17, the Android NFC basics guide says a tag holding a web link first shows an open link notification, and the page opens only when the person acts on it.
The instant version is the one most demonstrations show, and a prospect on Android 17 will not see it.
If several applications claim the address, the phone may offer a choice instead, which is normal and depends on what the person has installed rather than on your card.
On an iPhone
A notification appears naming the destination, and the person has to tap it for the page to open. If they do not, nothing further happens.
Background reading is available from the iPhone XS and XR onwards. On earlier supported models an application has to be launched manually, so waving a card at such a phone produces nothing at all.
Take NFC Tools. On iOS it requires an iPhone 7 or later running iOS 15.6 or later, and the app must be launched manually. Background reading is available from the iPhone XS and XR onwards.
None of that is a fault in the card, and all of it is worth knowing before you are standing in front of someone.
What can go wrong in the moment
The phone is asleep, so nothing happens. This is the commonest one and it looks like a broken card.
The person taps the middle of their phone while the antenna is elsewhere, and nothing happens.
A case with a metal mounting plate blocks it entirely, and a wallet case with a bank card inside competes with your card.
The notification appears and is dismissed by reflex, which on an iPhone or on Android 17 means the tap produced nothing visible.
Handling the handover
Ask them to wake their phone first. One sentence, and it removes the commonest failure.
Say what will happen: that a page will open, or that a notification will appear first, as it does on an iPhone and on Android 17. A person who knows what to expect completes the action.
Hold the card still against the back of their phone rather than tapping it, and give it a second.
And have a printed address on the card. When the tap does not work, and sometimes it will not, the conversation continues instead of stalling on a technical failure in front of a prospect.
Frequently asked questions
Why does nothing happen on some iPhones?
Background reading is available from the iPhone XS and XR onwards. On earlier supported models an application has to be launched manually.
Should I tap their phone or let them tap the card?
Hold the card against the back of their phone and keep it still for a second. Tapping quickly is the gesture that fails most often.
Why did a notification appear instead of the page?
That is normal iPhone behaviour for a background read, and normal Android behaviour for a web link from Android 17. The notification has to be tapped for the page to open.
What do I do when it fails?
Point at the printed address on the card and carry on. A card with no printed fallback turns a small failure into an awkward moment.