What’s inside a tap card
A review card is a printed card with a small NFC chip. When a phone touches it, the chip hands the phone a web address, and the phone opens it. That’s all. There’s no special connection to Google and nothing about the card makes reviews count more. The card is only as good as the link stored on it.
Google’s own review tools stop at a link and a QR code from your Business Profile. As of November 2026, its help pages don’t mention NFC at all. So everything about the chip, the setup app and any dashboard comes from whoever made the card, not from Google.
Direct link versus a redirect
This is the detail that matters most before you use one. Some cards store your Google review link directly on the chip. Others store the seller’s address, which then forwards the tap to Google. The second kind lets the seller change where your card points, show their own page first, or stop working when a subscription ends. A card that stores your Google link directly keeps working as long as Google keeps that link alive.
If you can’t tell which kind you have, tap it and watch the address bar. If you see a domain other than Google’s before the review form loads, it’s a redirect.
Always print the QR code too
Not every phone reads NFC, and some customers have it switched off. A QR code on the face of the card catches them. Use the one Google generates on the Get more reviews screen, so both the tap and the scan lead to the same form.
Using cards within the rules
Google’s content policy doesn’t name cards, but it spells out what counts as rating manipulation when merchants ask for reviews. Three points bite hardest with tap cards:
- Pressure on the premises. Google says not to require or pressure customers to review while they’re there. A card sitting on the counter is an invitation; a staff member holding it out and waiting is pressure.
- Staff quotas and names. Asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or asking for reviews that name a staff member, are both listed as manipulation. Per-employee cards with leaderboards drift into both.
- Filtering. Offering the card only to customers who seem pleased is selective solicitation. Leave it out for everyone or offer it to everyone.
And as with any ask, no discounts, freebies or prize draws in return for tapping.
Is a card worth it?
For a busy counter where people linger, a card can be a tidy prompt. For a trade business, the link in the invoice email usually does more work. Either way, the review form at the other end is the same one Google gives you for free.
If it doesn't work
- Some phones don't react to the tap: NFC has to be switched on and the phone held in the right spot. The printed QR code covers those customers.
- Taps go to a seller's page first: if their service lapses, the card stops working. Prefer cards that store your Google link directly.
- Staff hand the card to customers and wait while they review: Google's policy says not to pressure people to review on the premises.
Questions owners ask
Do I need a subscription for a review card?
Not for a card that stores your Google link on the chip; once written, it just holds the address. If a seller requires a subscription, our advice is to ask two things before buying: whose link is on the chip, and what the card does when the subscription lapses.
Where should the card sit?
Where customers finish: by the till, with the bill on the table, or in the folder you hand over with an invoice. Leave it out where anyone can use it rather than offering it to chosen customers, and let people tap in their own time.
Can I give each staff member a card so we know who got reviews?
Be careful. Google's policy names review quotas for staff and requests for reviews that identify a staff member as rating manipulation. Tracking taps by employee pushes staff toward exactly that, so a single shared card per location is the safer setup.
Sources
- Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews (support.google.com)
- Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user contributed content policy) (support.google.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.