Google's policy doesn't name NFC cards, QR codes, or any specific hardware as prohibited. What it does prohibit — reinforced in a 2026 update — is a specific pattern: review kiosks, shared tablets, and workflows where staff expect a customer to finish a review immediately, on the premises, while someone waits. That's a "review kiosk" problem, not a "tap technology" problem.
What actually changed in 2026
Google tightened the language around on-premises pressure: merchants shouldn't require or pressure customers to leave a review while they're still on site, and shouldn't request specific content be included. This mainly targets the tablet-at-the-till pattern, where a staff member hands over a device and stands there while the customer types — that's what triggers both the policy concern and, separately, spam filtering, since reviews from one shared device and IP address get flagged more easily.
Why a passive card is different
A card sitting on a counter or table is closer to a QR code printed on a receipt than it is to a staff member handing over a tablet — and receipt QR codes are explicitly still fine under the same guidance. Nobody's waiting on the customer to finish. Nobody's handing over shared hardware. The customer taps with their own phone, in their own time, and can just as easily leave without completing anything. That's the compliant pattern Google itself describes: a link the customer chooses to use, not a device they're expected to finish something on before they go.
Where it could go wrong
The risk isn't the card — it's turning it into the thing Google actually bans. If staff start asking customers to tap and complete the review before leaving, or hover while they do it, that's the on-premises pressure pattern, regardless of what device delivered the link. The fix is simple: treat the card as an invitation, not a checkout step. No one should feel they can't leave until it's done.