About the business
I run a 60-person creative agency. We were replacing our door cards.
The problem
Suppliers threw "NFC" and "RFID" around like brand names. One told me NFC was newer and therefore safer, while another insisted RFID was the proven choice and anything else was a gamble. I couldn't compare their quotes, because I didn't know what the words actually meant.
Neither, it turned out, did they.
What we did
I learned the plain version. NFC is a short-range kind of RFID. It's the same thing phones use for tap-to-pay.
The label matters far less than what's inside the card. A basic 125 kHz card sends a fixed ID and can be copied. An encrypted card is much harder to copy.
So I asked every supplier five things:
- What chip is in the card?
- Is it encrypted?
- Does the reader also accept old formats?
- How do readers connect to the controllers?
- Who holds the keys?
Two suppliers couldn't answer. They dropped out, which saved me from having to choose between them on price alone.
The result
We chose encrypted cards on readers that don't accept old formats. The decision took one afternoon, and I could explain it to my partners without using a single brand name.
If you want to know whether your current cards can be copied, here's one office manager's card check.
Comparing card quotes that use different words for the same thing? Send them over. We'll translate them into the five answers that actually matter.
Free door-by-door access review
Send us your door list, or just tell us what's behind each door. We'll reply with the weak spots and what to fix first, cheapest first.
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