RCS messaging — upgrade SMS on Android
RCS is the operator-backed upgrade to SMS: a verified, branded sender, rich cards and carousels, suggested replies, and read receipts — all in the phone's native messages app, with no app to install. Where RCS isn't available, it falls back to SMS.
Rich messaging without an app
RCS — Rich Communication Services — is the successor to SMS, carried by the mobile operators and delivered in the same native messages app a customer already uses on Android. They don't install anything; an SMS thread simply becomes capable of more. RCS Business Messaging (RBM) is the business side of that standard.
The upgrade over SMS is real. Your messages come from a verified, branded sender — your name, logo, and brand colour, not a six-character header — and can carry high-resolution images, rich cards, carousels, and suggested replies and actions a customer taps. You also get delivery and read receipts and typing indicators, so a thread behaves like a modern chat.
Because it runs in the native app on the customer's default messaging, RCS reaches people who'll read a text but never installed a chat app. Apple has begun supporting RCS on iPhone, and the business experience is strongest on Android today, so the practical model is RCS where it's available and SMS everywhere else.
That fallback is automatic: a message that can't be delivered as RCS is sent as SMS, so a campaign reaches everyone and only upgrades the experience where the device and network support it. You send once; each customer gets the richest version their phone can show.
What’s included
Verified and branded
Your name, logo, and colour — a verified sender, not a header.
Cards and carousels
High-res media, rich cards, and swipeable carousels.
Suggested replies
Tappable replies and actions — reply, open, call, locate.
Delivered and read
Read receipts and typing indicators, like a modern chat.
No app to install
Runs in the phone's default messages app.
SMS where RCS isn't
Automatically sends as SMS when RCS isn't available.
Frequently asked
What is RCS, and how is it different from SMS?
RCS is the operator-standard upgrade to SMS, delivered in the same native messages app. Where SMS is 160 characters from a six-character header, RCS gives you a verified branded sender, rich cards and carousels, suggested replies, media, and read receipts — without the customer installing anything.
How is RCS different from WhatsApp?
WhatsApp runs on Meta's network and needs the app installed; RCS runs through the mobile operator in the phone's default messages app. Many businesses use both — WhatsApp for its conversation model and reach, RCS to upgrade plain SMS on Android. We support both from one account.
Which devices support RCS?
RCS is well established on Android through the native messages app, and Apple has begun supporting RCS on iPhone. Support still varies by device, operator, and region, which is why every RCS campaign falls back to SMS automatically where RCS isn't available, so reach is never reduced.
How is RCS priced?
Per message, typically at a higher rate than SMS because of the richer experience, with GST shown separately; messages that fall back to SMS are charged as SMS. See the pricing page or talk to our team for rates against your expected volume.