Sinch Community

Watch the video below to learn how to start sending RCS messages with Sinch:    The video tutorial above guides you through the processes of assigning your RCS Agent to an existing Conversation API app and then sending your first RCS messages.   Note: You can create an RCS Agent, which is used as your business profile when sending RCS messages, using the Sinch Build dashboard.   As the video notes, you can explore the Postman collection and review the various message types supported by RCS. You can then send additional test messages to see how these different message types will look on a handset.   To learn more, read our comprehensive developer documentation for RCS, which shows you how to build your business' RCS experience. ... View more

Carriers that approve RCS for Business content on their networks also price and bill for delivering RCS for Business messages to their subscribers. There are RCS for Business Message types and Billing categories and it's important to distinguish between these concepts - RCS Agent billing categories are different from RCS message types.    Message types and supported billing may vary by region, but for the most part, Google and carriers define these as follows:   Message types  (all countries except US) Basic messages: text-only messages <160 characters (like SMS).  Single messages: plain text messages >160 characters, or content-rich messages (e.g. media, suggested actions/replies, cards, carousels, etc).  Message types (US) Rich messages:​ Text-only (< 160 characters)​ Suggested replies​ Suggested action: Open URL​ Suggested action: Dial a number. ​ Rich Media messages: Content-rich, including media, videos, files, and all other suggested actions including webview   Billing categories  A billing category is a classification for your RCS Agent that tells carriers how to charge for the messages your agent sends. You choose this category when you create your agent, and it cannot be changed later. Businesses register their RCS Agents as Non-conversational (Basic or Single agents) or Conversational. The difference is how they are billed and pricing is set by the carriers. Messages on Non-conversational RCS Agents will always be billed per message - charged as Basic or Single message depending on what is sent.  Messages sent on Conversational RCS Agents:  Will be billed as one Single/Basic message, unless the consumer replies.   If the consumer replies, billing switches to the session-based price. All messages sent and received in a period (generally 24h) are included in the session.   The clock starts from the time the consumer replies, as long as that message is sent within 24 hours of the MO.    If a consumer sends in a message to an Agent outside of an existing session, a new session will be started when the business replies.   ​   Important Notes:  There is no longer any difference between Basic and Single RCS Agent billing categories. An agent in either category will be billed as a Non-conversational agent. You can have two-way interactions/messaging with consumers on both Non-conversational and Conversational agents. However, you will be charged per message versus per session, respectively.​ You can change your agent's billing category before you create and launch your agent, but not after. Contact your Sinch Account Manager to discuss changing to a different billing category post-launch. If multiple A2P messages are sent before the first P2A message (customer reply), only the A2P message immediately preceded by that P2A message is part of the conversation. The initial messages are billed as Basic or Single messages individually.  ... View more

Each RCS Agent is required to have a predefined use case that reflects the nature of the conversations it is intended to have with end users and to help businesses comply with business rules. RCS for Business supports four primary use cases: OTP ✅ One-time passwords for authentication, account login, password resets, and completing or confirming transactions ❌ Cannot include product updates, notifications, offers, promotions, discounts, upgrades, or information related to goods and services Transactional ✅ Notifications, updates or alerts to share information directly relevant to a customer's existing services or products, such as alerts for suspicious account activities, purchase confirmations, and shipping notifications. You can send OTP on transactional.  ❌ Cannot include marketing or promotional messages Promotional ✅ Sales, marketing and promotional messages to new or existing customers, with the objective to increase awareness, engagement and sales ❌ Cannot include OTP and 2FA, time-sensitive product and service information, or transactions Multi-use ✅ Conversational flows that combine transactional and promotional use cases, such as sending an account notification and then offering a discount or upgrade for a new product and service. Must include a combination of transactional and promotional messages (note: you can declare an agent as "multi-use" in your agent launch request, even if you only have one active use case. If you declare multi-use with one use case, you must confirm that you plan to implement the second use case within the next six months). ❌ Cannot include OTP messages, password resets, or only promotional/only transactional use cases Refer to the Choose the right use case article on the Google developers site, for more details about when to use each use case or reach out to us for support.  ... View more

All RCS agents must go through verification and approval as part of the launch process. This is key to the security of RCS for Business and enables the messages to come from a verified sender.    The process and timeframes for launching RCS Agents vary by region and carrier. The best way to ensure a quick and smooth launch is to ensure all guidelines are followed and all required information is provided in a timely manner.   RCS Agents can be submitted for approval and launch on one or more carriers. The steps and criteria for launch differ depending on the carriers selected: Some carriers are managed by Google. Agents submitted for launch on these carriers are reviewed by Google and if all criteria are met, approved by them for launch. Google will connect with someone who works at the brand to verify details.  Other carriers approve and manage their own agent launches. Google is not involved in this process. Each carrier has their own process for approval and launch and may require additional information beyond what Google requires.  See more details on RCS Agent Launch requirements here.     Note that regardless of who manages the agent it will be un-launched if it is determined to violate Google’s Acceptable Use Policy.    Sinch is working closely with Google and Carriers around the world to support and manage RCS for Business launches. Please contact Sinch if you have any questions or to want to know how get started.  ... View more

The following are just two example of how Sinch has helped customers achieve success with RCS. Read more customer stories on our website, including Clarins, Courir, BUT, and Printemps.    How Picard increased customer engagement by 42% with RCS   What the video to find out how frozen food retailer Picard integrated Sinch’s chatbot builder with our conversation API leveraging RCS to create an engaging customer experience:     Picard’s mission is to “continually nurture the love of good food”. They brought this to life with RCS (Rich Communication Services) by creating a conversational experience that takes the stress out of planning your holiday menu. Read the full story on sinch.com.    How EasyPark Group keeps users informed with RCS   What the video to find out how EasyPark Group, a leader in digital parking solutions, leverages Sinch's SMS and RCS (Rich Communication Services) technologies to improve customer experience for millions of monthly users across 20+ countries:     In the video, Alex Keynes, Head of Product for the driver's experience at EasyPark, shares the impact of switching to a single communications partner. By switching to Sinch for all markets, EasyPark Group simplified their messaging infrastructure without sacrificing a high-quality driver experience. “Sinch is reliable, their delivery rates are high, and they’re not taking any shortcuts,” Alex explained. “For us, this is something that we can rely on and that we don't need to spend a lot of time on.”   Read more customer stories on our website, including Clarins, Courir, BUT, and Printemps.  ... View more

Watch the video below to learn how RCS can be used to combat fraud:   RCS has many powerful capabilities to combat fraud and ensure a safer messaging experience for all: The tightly controlled ecosystem of RCS prevents spam, fraud, and phishing on SMS channels by implementing stricter controls and authentication measures. RCS messaging makes impersonation nearly impossible, unlike SMS where anyone can easily set up and send messages using any sender ID. Google only allows trusted partners to create sender agents on behalf of brands, requiring permission from both the brand and mobile operators to run messages using their brand. RCS provides an additional layer of protection for end users. By displaying the brand's logo in the message, users can validate that they are indeed communicating with the intended brand, such as their bank. For more information on RCS, visit the Sinch RCS product page. ... View more

What’s the difference between RCS and SMS? See our blog here for all the details.   What’s the difference between RCS and WhatsApp? See our blog here for all the details.   What’s the difference between RCS and MMS? See our blog here for all the details.   What’s the difference between RCS and iMessage? See our blog here for all the details.   For more information on RCS, visit the Sinch RCS product page. ... View more

There are three main types of RCS Business Messaging categories. The carriers bill based on these types:   Basic Text only, up to 160 characters, just like an SMS. Single Rich content including images, buttons, cards, carousel, location, etc. Plain text messages over 160 characters are also in this category.  Conversational Two-way messaging and can include both Basic and Single messages sent between the business and consumer. Conversations are billed for all messages within a 24-hour time frame, not per message.   Messages are only billed as Conversation type if the RCS Agent is created as Conversational at set up. If it’s not created as Conversational each message is billed as Basic or Single depending on what is sent.   See this Sinch blog post for more information about message types and how to use them.   For more information on RCS, visit the Sinch RCS product page. ... View more