Forming an inlay comprising an antenna wire having two end portions and a site for a transponder chip, comprises: mounting the wire to a surface of substrate; and leaving the end portions of the antenna wire free-standing, as loops adjacent terminal areas of a site on the substrate for the transponder chip. With the transponder chip installed on the substrate, the free-standing loops are repositioned to be substantially directly over the terminals of the transponder chip, in preparation for interconnection of the loops to the terminals of the transponder chip, then are bonded to the terminals. An embedding tool for mounting the wire on the substrate may embed the wire in or adhesively place a self-bonding wire on a surface of the substrate. The substrate may have two transponder chips, and function as a secure inlay. An anti-skimming feature is included in the inlay.