NFC Coin for Networking: What It Is and a Better Option

An NFC coin is a small round tag, about the size of a coin, with an NFC chip sealed inside. Tap it to a phone and it opens a link, usually a digital profile with your name, number and social links. People liked them for networking because they're small and tough: no corners to bend, nothing to tear.

TapAll used to sell NFC coins. We've stopped. This post explains what an NFC coin is, who it suited, and what we recommend now if you want pocket-sized networking that actually stays with you.

What an NFC coin is, and how it works

NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It works only at very close range, a few centimetres, which is why you hold the coin right up to the other person's phone.

The chip inside a coin is passive. There's no battery and nothing to charge. When a phone taps it, the phone's own NFC field powers the chip for that instant, and the chip passes over a short link. The phone opens it in the browser and your profile appears. No app is needed on either phone.

With a TapAll profile behind the tag, the chip stores only that short link. Your actual details live in the profile and can be edited anytime from the dashboard, so the tag never needs rewriting. That's true whether the tag is shaped like a coin, a keychain or a card.

Why people liked the coin shape

The coin had real strengths, and it's worth being fair about them.

• It's compact. It fits in a pocket, a wallet slot or a small pouch.
• It's tough. No corners to bend and no printed surface to scuff, so it handles daily knocks better than paper.
• It works as a fixed point. Set on a counter, a table or a stall front, it lets visitors tap to connect or follow.

That made it popular with people who move around a lot: field sales staff, event teams, and delivery-heavy businesses where nobody wants to carry a stack of cards.

Why TapAll stopped selling NFC coins

Small and tough are good qualities. But in daily use the coin ran into a few problems we couldn't design around.

• It's easy to lose. A loose coin slips into a pocket with change, rolls under a car seat, or goes through the wash. Nothing ties it to anything you carry.
• People don't know what to do with it. Hold out a small disc and the other person often isn't sure whether to take it, tap it or just look at it. A card or a keychain is easier to understand at a glance.
• There's little room on it. A coin's face is small, so there's not much space for your name, let alone a QR code for phones without NFC.

The keychain keeps what people liked about the coin, small and sturdy, and fixes the biggest problem. It's attached to your keys, which you already carry everywhere.

NFC coin vs keychain vs card

Keychain or Premium card: which suits you?

Choose the NFC Keychain (₹699) if the coin appealed to you because it was small and sturdy. It's always on you, it's quick to hold out, and a tap opens your TapAll profile. It suits the same people the coin did: field sales staff, people on site visits, and anyone who doesn't carry a wallet to every meeting. You enquire about it on WhatsApp, and there's more detail in our NFC keychain post.

Choose the Premium NFC Business Card (₹1,199) if you meet people in offices and meetings, where handing over a card feels natural. It's a PVC NFC card with a printed QR code for phones without NFC. It's the only TapAll product you buy online at tapall.in, with UPI at checkout.

If you used coins as a fixed point, there are better tools now. For a café or restaurant counter, the Restaurant NFC Table Card puts your menu and reviews behind one tap. For exhibition stalls, the Event / Exhibition NFC Badge is built for lead capture.

New to all this? Our guide on what an NFC business card is covers the basics in plain words.

Questions people ask

Does TapAll still sell NFC coins?

No, we've stopped selling them. For pocket-sized networking we recommend the NFC Keychain, and for meetings, the Premium NFC Business Card.

Is an NFC keychain the same as an NFC coin?

They work the same way: a passive chip that opens a link when a phone taps it. The difference is the keyring, which keeps the keychain with your keys instead of loose in a pocket.

Does an NFC coin need charging?

No. The chip has no battery. It's powered by the phone that taps it, only for that moment.

I bought an NFC coin from TapAll earlier. What should I do?

Get in touch on WhatsApp and we'll go through your setup with you.

If the keychain sounds like a good fit, message us on WhatsApp at +91 97133 49930.