Overview
Physical Card Sync allows Tenant Admins and Hosts to assign physical access cards (keycards) to visitors through the Tenant Portal. Assigned cards are automatically synced to the Building Portal in real time, giving building security immediate visibility of all active visitor card assignments.
This feature works for Mercury Platform only.
Who Can Use This Feature
Role | What They Can Do |
Tenant Admin / Host | Assign, re-assign, or delete physical cards on invitations in the Tenant Portal |
Building Security | View synced card assignments in real time; delete a card or clear anti-pass-back |
Assigning a Physical Card to a Visitor
To assign a physical card to a visitor invitation:
Open the invitation in the Tenant Portal
Go to Action -> Assign Card. Add the necessary details and Save.
The system validates the card number. If valid, the card is assigned and immediately synced to the Building Portal.
Building security will see the card in real time on the Upcoming Invites page and in Visitor Logs.
If the card number and format already exist for another user or visitor in the Building Portal, the assignment will be blocked. A validation error will appear in the Tenant Portal. Choose a different card number and try again.
Re-assigning a Card
If you assign a new card to an invitation that already has a card:
The existing card is immediately expired and deleted from both the Tenant Portal and Building Portal.
The new card is assigned and synced in real time.
There is no grace period — the old card is invalidated the moment the new one is assigned. Make sure the visitor returns the old card before re-assigning.
How Card Settings Are Synced to the Building Portal
When a card is synced from the Tenant Portal to the Building Portal, the following settings are applied automatically:
Setting | Value Applied |
Card Type | Physical Card — Keycard (always) |
Card Format | Uses the default format set in Building Portal (Tenants > Default Card Format). If no default is set, no format is assigned. |
Facility Code | As per the assigned card format of Building Portal |
Card Number | Same number as entered in the Tenant Portal — never changed |
Badge Type | Defaults to the Building Portal's default badge type |
Validity / Access Hours | Follows the visit hours defined in the Tenant Portal. If visit hours are extended, card validity extends accordingly. |
Access Group (AG) | Applied based on the Building's default Visitor Type |
Anti-Passback Exempt | Not supported for visitors |
PIN Exempt | Not supported for visitors |
Badge settings in the Building Portal do not override visit-based validity. The card's access window is always determined by the visit hours set in the Tenant Portal.
What Building Security Sees
Upcoming Invites Page
Assigned cards appear in the Upcoming Invites list.
Only the card number and status are displayed.
Visitor Profile — Keycard Section
The assigned card is displayed as a clickable hyperlink (consistent with native portal behavior).
Clicking the card opens a read-only view of all card details. No editing is possible from this view.
Visitor Logs
Cards appear in both the common Visitor Log and the individual Visitor Profile.
Only the card number and status are shown in logs.
Actions Available in the Building Portal
Building security can perform the following actions on synced visitor cards from the Keycard section of the Visitor Profile:
Action | Notes |
Delete card | Removes the card from both the Building Portal and Tenant Portal |
Clear Anti-Passback | Available on active cards only. Not available on expired cards. |
Building security cannot directly assign a new physical card to a synced visitor invitation (Synced from Tenant Portal), Card assignments must always originate from the Tenant Portal for such invitations.
Audit Logs
All card-related actions — whether performed in the Tenant Portal or the Building Portal — generate an audit log entry. These audit logs are synced and visible in both portals, providing a complete activity trail for compliance and security purposes.
Troubleshooting
Card Assignment & Lifecycle Behavior
Automatic Card Removal
Cards are automatically detached and removed from both the Tenant Portal and Building Portal in the following cases:
Invitation is cancelled, declined, or denied
Visitor is checked out
Card is manually deleted by the user in any of the portals
Once removed, the card becomes available for reassignment to another visitor.
2. Expired Invitations (After Visit Hours)
When an invitation expires:
The assigned card is marked as expired
However, it remains linked to the visitor profile
To reuse the card, the user must either:
Check out the invitation, or
Manually delete the card
3. Deactivated Cards
If a card is marked as “Deactivated” on the Keys page:
This action does not sync with the Building Portal at present
For additional help, contact support@getgenea.com