NFC vs QR code for a café loyalty card: which is better?

NFC and QR codes do the same job: they open a web link on the customer’s phone. A QR code works on any phone with a camera. An NFC tap is a little quicker but needs a phone with NFC switched on. For most cafés the answer is to offer both.

How each one works

NFC: a small tag with no battery holds a web link. Hold a phone close and the phone opens it, like tap-to-pay.
QR code: a printed square. The customer opens the camera, points it at the code and taps the link that appears.

Side by side

	NFC tap	QR code
How a customer uses it	Hold the phone against the tag	Open the camera and point it at the code
Speed	Usually the quickest	A moment longer, because the camera opens first
Which phones	Phones with NFC, with NFC switched on	Any phone with a camera
Look	A small sticker or stand	A printed square that can look busy
Needs power or a battery	No	No
If it gets damaged	A worn tag may stop working: replace the sticker	A smudged code may stop scanning: reprint it

When NFC is the better choice

At the till. A tap is quick, there’s nothing to aim, and it feels like paying. It’s also the safer way to add stamps, which brings us to the next point.

When a QR code is the better choice

For joining. A QR code on a sign works for customers whose phone can’t read NFC, and you can put it on a table, a window or a flyer. Just don’t use one for stamping: a photographed QR code could be used to collect stamps from home. That’s why TapStik keeps stamping on the NFC stamp only.

Why use both

The same link sits behind both, so each customer can use whichever suits their phone. The link behind a TapStik signup tag also opens from the sign’s QR code, so a customer whose phone can’t read NFC still gets their card.

A simple setup for a café

Put the NFC signup tag and a sign with a QR code at the counter.
Keep the stamp at the till, NFC only.
Tell staff what to say: “Tap here for a stamp card.”