Same steps as a card

Many visitors at a show do not carry business cards any more. Their badge usually has what you need to start: a name, a company, often a job title and a country.

  1. Tap Scan, check the Save to collection at the top.

  2. Tap Scan Card and photograph the badge.

  3. The contact opens with Contact saved. Add what the badge does not show.

Getting a good read

  • Fill the frame with the printed part. Get close enough that the name and company are large and sharp. The lanyard and the plastic sleeve can stay out of the picture.
  • Mind the glare. Plastic badge holders reflect overhead lights. Tilt the badge or the phone slightly until the text is clear.
  • Ask, rather than turn the badge round. A quick “May I scan your badge?” is friendlier than reaching for someone’s lanyard.

What a badge usually lacks

Badges rarely show an email address or phone number. After the scan, ask for the details you need and add them on the contact.

On Team Pass and Business, the instant follow-up email goes out only when the scanned badge itself shows an email address. Adding an email to the contact afterwards does not send one. If the visitor would like your details anyway, show them My card.

QR codes on badges

Swops reads the printed text on a badge. It does not read the badge’s QR or barcode, which usually only links to the organiser’s own system.

If Swops says it is not a card

The AI is careful not to save photos that are not business cards, and once in a while it refuses a badge. Nothing is charged when that happens. Try again closer to the name and company, with less of the lanyard and background in the picture. If it still refuses, tap Enter manually and type the details: manual entry is always free. See “That photo does not look like a business card”.

Want your own details just as easy to take? Show visitors your QR code with My card.