Google Review NFC Cards: How They Work and Which to Buy

A Google review NFC card is a printed card with an NFC chip — and, on some versions, a QR code — that opens your business’s Google review form when a customer taps it with a phone or scans it. No app is needed. Choose a version with a QR code if some customers’ phones have NFC switched off.

What a Google review NFC card is

A Google review NFC card is a credit-card-sized PVC card with a small NFC chip inside. We set the chip to open one web address: the review link from your Google Business Profile. When a customer holds their phone near the card, the phone opens that link and Google shows the review form for your business.

Some versions also carry a printed QR code. It points to the same link, so a customer can scan it with the phone camera instead of tapping. The card stores no names, phone numbers or customer data. It holds the link and nothing else.

The card does not write the review, add stars or post anything. It saves the customer the job of searching for your business, finding the reviews tab and pressing “Write a review”. That is the whole benefit, and it is a useful one: the fewer steps there are, the easier it is for a customer who wants to leave a review to actually do it.

How a tap works on iPhone and Android

NFC (near-field communication) works over a few centimetres. The customer does not pair anything and does not install an app. They hold the top or the back of the phone against the card, and the phone shows a notification or opens a browser tab with your review link.

• iPhone: recent iPhones read NFC tags on their own when the screen is on. There is no NFC setting to switch on. The reader sits near the top edge, so the top of the phone should touch the card.
• Android: most Android phones with NFC read the card when the screen is unlocked. On some models NFC is off by default and has to be switched on in Settings, often under “Connections” or “Connected devices”. The reader is usually in the middle of the back.
• Phones without NFC, or with NFC switched off: the printed QR code on the QR versions works with any phone camera that reads QR codes.

To leave a Google review, the customer must be signed in to a Google Account. Google says so in its tips to get more reviews. If they are not signed in, Google asks them to sign in before the form opens. That step belongs to Google, not to the card.

Thin phone cases usually let the signal through. Thick metal or magnetic cases can block it, and then the QR code is the fallback. If a tap does not work at first, moving the phone slowly across the card usually finds the reader.

What the customer sees after the tap

The phone opens Google’s review form for your business. The customer sees your business name, an empty row of stars and a text box. They choose a rating, write as much or as little as they like, and can add photos. Then they post it. Nothing is filled in for them, and the card has no say in what they choose.

New reviews do not always appear at once. Google checks contributions against its policy, so a review can take a while to show, and some are never published. That is normal and has nothing to do with how the customer reached the form.

The four versions we sell

The Google review NFC card comes in four versions, in white or black. The price depends on the version, not the colour.

If you are unsure, choose a version with a QR code. It costs more than the simple card, but it removes the most common failure: a customer whose phone has NFC switched off. The printed name helps when the card leaves your premises — in a bill folder, a taxi or a welcome pack — because the customer can see which business it belongs to.

Card, stand or sticker?

A card is portable: it travels to the table, the car or the customer’s hand. A stand sits on the counter and works without anyone handing it over. A sticker fixes to a surface such as a door, a menu or a card reader, and a plaque goes on the wall. Many businesses use a card for staff and a stand at the till. Our comparison of review stands, cards, stickers and plaques sets out where each one fits and what each costs.

Who a Google review NFC card suits

Cards suit businesses where one person serves the customer and finishes the visit:

• Hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons, when the appointment ends and the customer pays — see our review card setup for salons and barbers.
• Cafés and restaurants with table service, placed in the bill folder or on the tray — see our restaurant and café setup guide.
• Tradespeople, cleaners and mobile services, left with the invoice when the job is signed off — see the leave-behind card method for tradespeople.
• Clinics, physios and practices, offered at reception on the way out — see how clinics and dentists can ask patients properly.
• Hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets, left in the room or the welcome pack — see review cards for hotels and holiday lets.
• Taxi drivers, driving instructors and tour guides, handed over at the end of the trip.
• Small shops, kept by the till and offered with the receipt.

Cards suit less well where nobody hands anything over, such as a self-service shop or a busy counter with a queue. There, a stand or a sticker does the job without anyone having to remember. If your customers mostly review you on another site, our guide to choosing between Google, Tripadvisor and Trustpilot review cards helps you pick.

What a review card cannot do

• It cannot guarantee stars, a rating or a number of reviews.
• It cannot choose who reviews. Offer it to every customer, including the ones who had a problem.
• It cannot write or edit a review. The review is the customer’s own, in their own words.
• It cannot make Google publish a review. Google filters content it believes breaks its rules, and some reviews appear later or not at all — see Google’s page about missing or delayed reviews.

Google’s rules matter here. Google does not allow businesses to offer incentives for reviews — discounts, free items, prize draws or any other reward — or to ask only happy customers, which is called review gating. Owners and staff must not review their own business, and fake, bought or swapped reviews are banned. Read Google’s policy on fake engagement and rating manipulation and our plain-English guide to Google’s review policy for businesses.

We will never help with incentivised, gated or fake reviews. A card is a faster way to ask; it is not a way around the rules.

Setting the card up in your business

A card works when it becomes part of how every visit ends. A few habits help:

• Keep several cards where staff finish the visit: at the till, in the bill folder, in the van.
• Agree one short, neutral line that everyone uses, and use it with every customer.
• Let customers review later if they prefer. Google says merchants should not pressure customers to review while they are on the premises.
• Do not give staff a target number of reviews, and do not ask customers to mention a staff member by name. Google’s policy lists both as not allowed.
• Test a card each month with one iPhone and one Android phone, so you notice if your link ever changes.

Questions customers ask at the counter

Staff get the same few questions. Short, honest answers help:

• “Do I need an app?” No. Hold the top of your phone near the card, or scan the code with your camera.
• “Nothing happened.” Check the screen is on and unlocked. On some Android phones NFC is switched off; the QR code works instead.
• “Do I have to do it now?” No. Take the card with you, or do it whenever suits you.
• “Do I have to give five stars?” No. Write whatever reflects your visit.
• “Is it safe?” The card only opens Google’s review page. It cannot read anything from your phone.

The editable-link option

Without the option, the chip and QR code open the link you give us at checkout, permanently. With the editable-link option, the card opens a link you can change later from a dashboard, without buying a new card, and the dashboard shows tap analytics. It is billed yearly — $12 a year in this store — and the price is shown on the product page before you pay.

Choose it if you might move premises and open a new Business Profile, or want the card to open a different page later. Skip it if your Google review link is settled: a fixed link has no yearly cost.

Ordering with the right link

The card opens exactly the link you paste on the product page, so the link is the one thing to get right. Use the review link from your Google Business Profile — not the address of your Google Maps listing, and not a link copied while signed in to a personal account that does not manage the business. Our step-by-step guide shows how to find your Google review link and test it.

1. Copy the review link from your Business Profile.
2. Open it in a private browser window on your phone and check that the review form for your business appears.
3. Paste it into the review link field on the Google review NFC card page.
4. Check it again at checkout before you pay.

When the cards arrive, test one with an iPhone and one with an Android phone before you put them out. Our step-by-step guide to setting up an NFC review card covers testing, placement and fixes.

Using the card day to day

A card works best when staff offer it the same way to everyone. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules has two neutral scripts staff can use, the right moment to ask in different kinds of business, and what to do after a bad experience.

Reply to reviews, good and bad. Google recommends replying and notes that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy to people reading your profile.

Questions

Do customers need an app to use a Google review NFC card?

No. Recent iPhones and most Android phones with NFC open the link without an app. On some Android phones NFC has to be switched on in Settings. Versions with a QR code also work with the phone camera.

Which version should I buy?

If you are unsure, choose a version with a QR code. It works for customers whose phones have NFC switched off. Add your name if the card will leave your premises, so customers know whose it is.

Will a review card get me more five-star reviews?

A card cannot promise stars or a number of reviews. It makes leaving a review easier for customers who want to. The review, and the rating, are always the customer’s own.

Can I change the link after the card arrives?

Only with the editable-link option, which is billed yearly and shown with its price before you pay. Without it, the card opens the link you give us at checkout.

Is it allowed to hand customers a review card?

Yes, if you offer it to every customer and give nothing in return. Google does not allow incentives, review gating or reviews from owners and staff.

Does the card store customer data?

No. The chip holds only your review link. The review is written on Google, under Google’s own privacy policy.