Setting up NFC check-in easily
With NFC check-in, staff briefly hold the smartphone to a guest’s NFC chip instead of scanning a QR code — no aiming the camera, no turning up screen brightness. The process works with a tap and doesn’t require any action from the guest.
Whether NFC is included in your plan is on the pricing page.
Which venues is NFC suitable for?
NFC makes particular sense if guests already carry an NFC-enabled item from the start of the event. Typical use cases:
- NFC name badges at conferences and trade fairs
- NFC lanyards at festivals or company events
- NFC entry wristbands at clubs and galas
- NFC access cards or staff IDs
In all these cases, the guest already has the means of identification in hand. Staff briefly tap it with the smartphone — check-in is complete.
Device requirements for NFC
Not every smartphone supports NFC. NFC only works in the tapcoat® app, not in the web app. The following overview shows what to keep in mind:
iPhone
- iPhone XR (2018) or newer: full NFC support, background scanning active — recommended
- iPhone 7, 8, X: NFC available, but without background scanning — the app must be open
- Older than iPhone 7: no NFC — not suitable
Android
- Most Android smartphones from 2013 onwards support NFC
- NFC must be enabled in the device settings: Settings → Connected devices → NFC (or similar, depending on the manufacturer)
- Recommended: Android 10 or higher
NFC identifier: what is scanned?
With NFC check-in, an existing NFC chip is used as a unique identifier. tapcoat reads the tag; no new code is generated. tapcoat supports common NFC tag formats. Test your own tags once with your team’s devices before the event. There are two ways to get NFC tags:
Option 1: NFC tags via tapcoat
NFC tags are available on request via tapcoat, for example as stickers, cards, lanyards or wristbands. Ask your contact person at tapcoat or write to hello@tapcoat.com.
Option 2: use existing NFC items
If your venue or ticket provider already issues NFC-enabled items — for example NFC congress badges or NFC admission tickets — these can be used directly. tapcoat reads the unique NFC identifier and links it to the cloakroom process. Separate programming of the tags is usually not necessary.
One tag always stands for one booking. If a guest has already checked in items under a tag, the app reports Guest already checked in. Then use another identifier, for example a second NFC tag.
Set up NFC for the event
You choose the identifier when creating the event in step 3 (Identifier). Choose NFC (existing tag) there. As soon as the event is running, NFC scanning is active in the app — staff tap Check-in, enter the number of items and hold the device to the guest’s NFC identifier.