Communication
RCS (Rich Communication Services) lives in the phone's native messaging app — but with your brand, verified trust marks, rich cards and buttons instead of 160 plain characters.
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the modern messaging standard built into the phone's default messaging app — the successor to SMS. RCS Business Messaging is its commercial layer: verified brands sending rich, interactive messages into that same inbox. Customers don't install anything or add a contact; your message simply arrives richer.
Where an SMS is 160 anonymous characters, an RCS message carries your verified name, logo and brand colors, plus hero images, carousels, suggested replies and action buttons that open maps, dial numbers or add calendar events. Read receipts and interaction analytics come back on every message — you finally see what happens after delivery.
With RCS active across most modern Android devices and rolling out on iPhone since iOS 18, and automatic SMS fallback covering the rest, RCS lets brands upgrade the channel they already use without giving up SMS's universal reach.
Rich messaging
No app install, no new inbox. RCS turns the default messaging app into a rich channel with interactions you can measure.
Rich card
Hero image, title, description and up to four action buttons in one message.
Carousel
Swipeable product cards — a storefront inside the message thread.
Suggested replies
One-tap responses that keep the conversation moving without typing.
- Read receipts & typing indicators
- Delivery + engagement analytics
- High-resolution images and video
- Location, dialer and calendar actions
Trust marks
Phishing has trained people to distrust text links. RCS senders are verified before the first message, so your brand arrives with proof.
Verified sender badge
Your agent is verified with the carriers and Google before launch — customers see a checkmark, not a random number.
Your name, logo and colors
The thread carries your brand identity, not a 6-digit shortcode.
Anti-spoofing by design
Only your verified agent can send as your brand — impersonation gets blocked at the network.
Comparison
Three channels, three trade-offs. Most brands run RCS with SMS fallback — and WhatsApp where the audience prefers it.
| SMS | RCS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it lands | Native SMS app | Native SMS app (upgraded) | WhatsApp app |
| Media & buttons | Text only, 160 chars | Rich cards, carousels, buttons | Rich media, buttons |
| Branding | Sender ID only | Verified name, logo, colors | Verified profile |
| Reach | Every handset | Android with RCS enabled | WhatsApp users (2B+) |
| Fallback | — | Automatic SMS fallback | SMS fallback via API |
| Billing unit | Per message part | Per message / 24h conversation | Per 24h conversation |
Use cases
Campaigns that need more than text — and journeys where a button beats a link.
Retail & D2C promotions
Sale carousels with product cards and one-tap 'Shop now' buttons — a storefront in the inbox.
Order & delivery journeys
Branded shipping updates with live-tracking buttons and reschedule actions built in.
Banking & fintech
Verified-sender statements and payment reminders that customers can trust aren't phishing.
Travel & ticketing
Boarding passes and tickets as rich cards, with gate-change updates and add-to-calendar actions.
Feedback & surveys
Suggested-reply ratings collected in one tap — response rates plain SMS can't touch.
Re-engagement
Win-back offers with imagery and buttons, measured by read and click — not guesswork.
Conversations
RCS bills differently from SMS: single messages are billed individually, but once a customer replies, everything rolls into a 24-hour conversation window.
- 0110:00
You send a rich card
A single business-initiated message is billed as one A2P Single RCS message.
- 0210:12
The customer replies — a conversation opens
Their reply starts a 24-hour A2P conversation window.
- 03+24h
Unlimited messages both ways
Everything exchanged inside that window is included in the one conversation.
- 04
The window closes
The next message starts a new billable unit. A text-only A2P message under 160 characters outside any conversation bills as a Basic RCS message — the cheapest unit. If the customer messages first, the business reply opens a P2A conversation instead.
Fallback
RCS coverage is strong on Android and growing fast, but it isn't universal. Set a fallback chain and the same message delivers as SMS wherever RCS can't land — one send call, everyone reached.
- Automatic capability check per recipient before sending
- Graceful downgrade: rich card → text + link on the SMS leg
- One delivery report across both legs
- Registered sender IDs applied automatically on the SMS leg
Coverage, conversations, cost and how verification works.
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the modern successor to SMS, built into the native Android messaging app. For businesses it adds verified branded senders, rich cards, carousels, suggested replies and read receipts — no app install required.
Start a project
Get verified, launch a rich campaign, and let SMS fallback cover the rest. We'll bring the rate card.
- Reply within one business day
- Free scoping session, no obligation
- You keep the scope document either way