RCS

RCS

RCS - The next generation of SMS is here

Rich Communication Services (RCS) marks the beginning of a new era in messaging, offering more than just text – with RCS, businesses can send images, buttons, and interactive messages directly within the customer’s regular SMS app.

Benefits of RCS for businesses

RCS Business Messaging (RBM) takes your customer communication to the next level. It provides a branded, trustworthy format that makes it easier for customers to take action – whether it’s making a purchase, getting support, or booking a service. With built-in security, verified senders, and modern features, RCS offers a communication channel that both engages and delivers real business value.

  • Create new revenue streams and boost sales
    Interactive and rich messaging experiences open the door to new opportunities – showcase products, book appointments, or request quotes – all without leaving the SMS app.
  • Achieve higher conversions
    RCS outperforms traditional channels like email and SMS. Engaging, verified messages drive stronger results.

  • Reduce costs with smart automation
    Streamline your messaging processes without relying on live support, saving time and resources while maintaining high-quality customer experiences.
This is RCS
Verification Badge
Verified company profile

Demonstrate your business's authenticity and build trust with your audience through business verification.

Rich media icon
Interactive communication

RCS delivers a rich and engaging messaging experience with image carousels, buttons, and video.

 

RCS branding
Showcase your brand

Enhance brand presence with customised, branded messages for a professional and consistent image.

Engage like never before with RCS business messaging

Enhance your communication with high-resolution multimedia, read receipts, verification, and more. RCS outperforms SMS and email with a 50% open rate within the first 15 seconds, three times the conversion than SMS, and 35 times more likely to be read compared to email.

  • Customise RCS message
    Customise your brand

    With RCS, you can integrate your company name, logo, and images directly into messages for a consistent and professional customer experience. It strengthens brand identity, builds trust, and leaves a lasting impression.

  • Security RCS message
    A safer experience

    Protect your customers from fraud. RCS offers verification badges and enhanced security, including encryption, making communication safer than traditional SMS.

  • Engaging RCS message2
    New engaging ways to interact

    With carousels, CTA buttons, auto-replies, video, location sharing, and more, RCS makes it easy to guide customers to the right choice – all within the message itself.

Engage like never before with RCS business messaging

Enhance your communication with high-resolution multimedia, read receipts, verification, and more. RCS outperforms SMS and email with a 50% open rate within the first 15 seconds, three times the conversion than SMS, and 35 times more likely to be read compared to email.

Customise RCS message
Security RCS message
Engaging RCS message2

RCS features

FA - Badge-marine blue

Verified sender

Build trust with verified identities for secure, reliable business messaging. Only verified companies can use business RCS.

Secure

End-to-end encryption

Safeguard sensitive messages with secure, encrypted messaging.

Read receipt

Read receipts

See when messages are sent and read. Stay in the loop with typing indicators for real-time awareness.

FA - Paint - Marine blue

Branded messages

Take your messages to the next level - create a branded experience for your recipients with contact cards and branded messages.

Rich media

High-quality multimedia

Share high-resolution images, videos, emojis, audio, files and GIFs for impactful visual communication.

Carousel

Rich cards & carousels

Explore carousels, suggested actions, and replies, rich cards, rich link previews, real-time location sharing and more to capture attention and increase engagement.

Contact card

Contact card

Share your contact info (phone, email, website) directly in chat, so customers can easily connect anytime.

Analytics

Analytics

Track metrics like messages sent, delivered, read and engaged. Type of interaction and time-to-response.

FA - Compose - Marine blue

Longer text length

With RCS you can send messages with up to 3072 characters, compared to only 160 characters in an SMS.

Different types of RCS Business Messaging (RBM)

All message types comes with branding and verified profiles.

Basic

Single

Conversation

Basic RCS – a smarter alternative to standard SMS
Send modern RCS messages directly through your existing SMS APIs. You can send up to 160 characters per message – simple, fast, and without the need to split messages.

Strengthen your brand
Instead of an anonymous number, your verified business identity is shown as the sender. Display your logo, use your brand colours, and include company details – so customers clearly see who you are and feel confident engaging with you.

Globally available – same price as SMS
Basic RCS is available to businesses worldwide, including in the Nordics, and follows the same pricing model as traditional SMS.

 

RCS Basic

Create engaging customer experiences
With Single RCS, you can send interactive messages that include images, videos, carousels, buttons, and quick replies. It’s ideal for campaigns, one-time passwords (OTP), and other customer communications that need to stand out.

More Than 160 Characters = Single RCS
Any RCS message containing media (such as images or video) or exceeding 160 characters is classified as Single RCS and is sent from a business (agent) to the customer.

Replies open the door to further dialogue
If the customer responds within 24 hours, a conversation can continue; otherwise, the session ends. Single RCS is available in selected European markets and will launch in the Nordics in 2025.

Pricing model
A Single RCS costs approximately 1.5 times more than an SMS but delivers significantly greater business value.

 

RCS Single

Start a real conversation
With Conversational RCS, you can have two-way conversations with customers – or let them take the first step. Chat history is saved, making follow-ups easy.

Perfect for campaigns, support, or chatbots
Create engaging experiences with real-time dialogue, directly in the customer’s messaging app.

How it works
If the customer replies within 24 hours to a Single message, a conversation is initiated. Everything sent within that window counts as a session-based A2P conversation. Conversational RCS is already available in parts of Europe and is expected to launch in the Nordics in 2025.

Pricing model
Conversational RCS is billed per 24-hour session and costs on average about twice as much as an SMS, while delivering greater business value.

 

RCS Conversational

Customers want a 2-way dialogue

Create Meaningful Dialogues and Build Lasting Relationships

Answer customer inquiries, provide real-time support, and gather valuable feedback. Exceed expectations with personalized interactions that strengthen relationships and enhance the customer experience.

Read more
RCS conversation2

How to get started with RCS

Switching from SMS to RCS is simple. Register your contact and branding details. Select the types of messages you wish to send, whether promotional, OTP, transactional (e.g., order information), or multi-use (a combination or conversational messaging) in your chosen language.

Registration is free, and our team will support you every step of the way, from setup to sending your first message – and beyond.

Read more about the registration process
RCS registration process

Questions & answers about RCS

How to register a brand in RBM

Select a Sender ID or bot agent name, typically using your company name, along with your brand name. Choose a non-transparent logo that looks great in both light and dark modes. Next, provide a banner image and a brief description for your profile. You can also add optional contact details, such as a phone number, email address, and URLs for your website, terms of use, and privacy policy.

How much does an RCS message cost?

Pricing is determined by each country and operator. The cost of a standard RCS message matches that of a single SMS in the respective country. A Single Rich RCS message is charged 1.5 times the standard rate, while a conversational RCS message within a 24-hour window is billed twice the standard rate.

How secure is RCS?

RBM messages sent between users and agents are encrypted between RBM agents and Google servers and between Google servers and users' devices. Partners can't use their own encryption keys because Google needs to scan messages for malicious content to protect all users and businesses.

Is RCS reliable?

All senders must be registered and verified by the RCS service provider to ensure authentication. This prevents fraud and creates reliable communications. RCS is, therefore good for sectors that send sensitive information to their customers.

How is RCS affected by GDPR?

GDPR and other new legislation have set privacy restrictions on how you can communicate with customers and prospects. Mobile users must choose to allow messages from companies. Android customers who have already selected SMS messages from a company will automatically receive the upgraded RCS experience.

Will SMS and RCS be grouped in the same thread on the phone?

RCS and SMS have different threads. RCS messages will be identified by the Display Name used for creating the RBM Agent (which would refer to the name of the Brand and use case).

What is an RCS agent?

An RCS agent is essentially a chatbot or automated messaging entity designed to interact with customers through interactive conversations over RCS.

What is the RCS text length limit?

Unlike SMS, there is no limit of 160 characters. Now you can send up to 2000 characters in one message.

If the recipient's mobile don't support RCS?

Then the RCS message will be sent as an SMS.

RCS needs internet connection?

RCS requires internet connection and if the phone is not connected and want to make a fallback to SMS, you set a time-out ie if the message has not been delivered within 60s, an SMS is sent.

How is the channel branding managed?

The RBM Agent created for a particular Brand includes assets such as the Display name, logo, banner, website, Contact details, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy that represent the Brand. End users will receive the RCS message in the chat inside the Google Messages App with the RBM Agent, where they will see these assets.

Current destinations supporting both Android and iOS

Status as of iOS 18.1: Full support available in Germany and Spain, with limited support from select operators in the USA, UK, Belgium, and France.

RCS availability across the world

RCS is growing in the market and is currently available in several countries, including the US, France, India, the UK, Sweden and Brazil. RCS was introduced in the Nordics in 2023 and specifically in Sweden by operators Tre, Tele2, Telenor and Telia. Today, RCS is supported by mobile phones with Android or iOS operating systems (full support for iOS is expected in 2025 in Europe).

RBM not yet available in your country? Register your brand now to be ready to start messaging as soon as it launches!

RCS world map 2024

Connect our APIs to your software

Integrate our robust and flexible RCS APIs and start sending rich messages. See the full API documentation and code examples. Our support team is at your disposal at any time.

API documentation
RCS API code snippet

Learn more about RCS

  • What is RCS? The next generation of business messaging

    Read more

  • The difference between RCS and RCS Business Messaging (RBM)

    Read more

  • RCS - better protection against fraud

    Read more

  • Turn notifications into meaningful conversations with RCS

    Read more

  • How to register your company for RCS Business Messaging (RBM)

    Read more

  • Basic RCS – Get started with the new messaging format for businesses

    Read more

  • Exploring diverse use cases of RCS

    Read more

  • RCS Verified Sender protects businesses from smishing and fraud

    Read more

Talk to one of our business
messaging experts

Fill in the form, and we will get in touch as soon as possible or call us: +46 8-635 26 00.