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RCS Business Messaging

If you don’t see the answer you need, just reach out to our support team for further assistance at help@kero.chat.

You can partner with Kero, a messaging platform provider that offers RCS Business Messaging capabilities. We will help you integrate RCS Business Messaging into your existing communication channels.  

RSC stands for Rich Communication Service. It’s an advanced messaging standard that allows for richer interactions between business and customers, including features like high-quality images, videos, interactive buttons, and more. 

RCS Business Messaging, also know as RBM, is the use of the RCS messaging channel to send rich business communications to mobile devices via an application to a person (A2P) messaging platform. 

RCS Business Messaging offers several benefits compared to traditional SMS messaging, including increased engagement, higher click-through rates, improved customer satisfaction, and the ability to provide more interactive and personalized experiences.  

RCS is an evolution of SMS, offering enhanced features and capabilities. While SMS is limited to text, RCS allows for multimedia content, interactive elements, and richer conversations. Another key difference between the two channels is that, unlike SMS messaging, RCS Business Messaging offers you a verified sender identity for your business.  

A verified sender identify is the name of your brand that appears as a sender identity in your contact’s RCS-enabled app. To obtain a verified sender identity as part of the RCS Business Messaging set-up process, your brand will undergo a verification process by a trusted third-party, in this case Google, to confirm the ownership details related to the brand’s sender identity.  

No, for sending RCS business messages you can reach your contacts via their existing phone numbers. RCS is built on top of the existing mobile network operator infrastructure and is designed to fallback to SMS if an RCS message cannot be delivered.  

RCS Business Messaging is available on many feature phones and smartphones and other mobile devices. However, the device message app on these devices needs to be RCS-enabled. RCS Business Messaging is available on Android devices. With the iOS 18.1 update in October 2024, Apple has enabled RCS Business Messaging for the US and some other key markets. However, the availability of RCS Business Messaging in a country is also dependent on mobile network operators supporting RCS Business Messaging on their networks. For an update of RCS Business Messaging availability in your market, contact us at help@kero.chat.

If you already have consent (opt-in) to send SMS messages to your contacts, then that same consent will apply to the sending of RCS Business Messages. The reason for this is that you are sending messages via a similar mobile communication channel that is operated by mobile network operators.

If you still need to get consent to message your contacts, then you need to ensure that your contacts expressly opts-in to receive messages on their mobile device. This opt-in must be specific to your contacts’ agreement to receive RCS messages from you. You can collect a contact’s consent via their checking a box on your website form or mobile app and it is best practice to also include opt-in to mobile communications within your terms and conditions. It is also important to state how consent to send mobile communications to your contacts is gained in your Privacy Policy and how and when your will use your contacts’ mobile phone numbers to contact them. In addition to the above, ensure that each time you capture a contact’s mobile phone number on your website that you display a privacy notice asking for express consent and linking to your Privacy Policy. 


For your terms and conditions, it is suggested you include (amend, as applicable) the following ‘Communications’ section to incorporate a valid opt-in mechanism for your brand’s mobile communications:  


“You expressly agree to receive communications from the Company by means of SMS, RCS, e-mails, phone calls, and WhatsApp relating to your order (e.g., for order confirmation, managing delivery logistics, etc), and relating to the products and services offered through the Website, and by other websites/businesses/entities affiliated with the Company’s brands. ”

Yes, just like SMS messaging, your contacts may opt-out (i.e. revoke consent to receive further messages from you) by replying to your Rich Business Message by sending the keyword STOP. Additional opt-out keywords can also be configured on our platform. This opt-out mechanism applies to all brand agents. There is also a link to an opt-out in the RCS Business Message that a contact may use to opt-out from your messaging. When opting-out, a contact’s number is then applied to a suppression list for your brand agent. The keyword to revoke an opt-out is START.  

Register on www.kero.chat to open an account with us. Select RCS Business Messaging as your messaging channel and then follow the onboarding steps to complete your application. Once we have receive all your information, we will then begin the process of setting up your brand agent (bot) and getting your business verified with Google and country-specific mobile network operators.

You will typically need to provide us with your company details, brand image assets, privacy policy, business messaging requirements (one or all use cases: marketing, transaction or OTP), and country destination or destinations to which you will be sending messages to.  

The onboarding process is dependent on the channel complexity of your set up and country-specific requirements. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and in some cases longer than that.

There are administrative set-up costs, monthly platform fees and volume specific costs that apply to the RCS Business Messaging service. Please visit our Pricing page for more details on platform and messaging service fees.

A brand agent is the messaging programmatic entity that sends RCS Business Messages to your contacts or allows your contacts to interact with you from an RCS-enabled messaging app. A brand agent is unique to your brand, company or organisation and it is implemented for a specific category of RCS Business Messaging during the set-up process. All brand agent applications are verified by Google and need to be enabled by the relevant mobile network operators in the country you are sending messages to. In the industry a brand agent is also called an RBM agent or an RCS bot.   

If you have attempted to send non-compliant messages or violate the business rules and policies of our terms and conditions, then your brand agent could be suspended. To reinstate your brand agent, you will need to ensure your use of the service is compliant. Repeated non-compliance may result in the termination of the brand agent by us or our platform partner.  

Templates are used to compile RCS Business Messages. Once a brand agent is set-up, you can create multiple templates for your messaging campaigns. A template allows you to design the rich media, by adding images, videos and suggested actions, that are to appear within your mobile communications campaign. When creating a template for a RCS Business Message, you can also elect to create a text message template for SMS fallback.  

The content of the message can be in the language of your choosing. You will need to specific the language you wish to use for your brand agent on set up. However, it is recommended that you set up separate brand agents per language you wish to use. A brand agent will be configured to the language setting of the device you are sending a message to irrespective of the language in which you elect to send RCS Business Messages. For further information or assistance on setting up your brand agent, please contact us on help@kero.chat.

Yes, Kero platform supports the API integration with the RCS Business Messaging service. Refer to the API documentation for more details. 

If your contact’s mobile device is not RCS-enabled, your RCS Business Message to that contact will fallback to be delivered by SMS message. For more on SMS fallback see this Help section.  

RCS Business Messaging can be seamlessly integrated with various business systems such as customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, customer support, and order management platforms through APIs and integrations. This enables you to implement automated workflows, data synchronisation, and enhanced customer experiences.  

There are pre-defined business rules for RCS Business Messaging that ensures that only valid messages are sent to contacts. These business rules, as set out by Google and enforced by our platform provider, ensure that the RCS Business Messaging channel is free from spam (unwanted commercial messages). The following business rules apply: 

  • Template approvals – Message templates are validated by our platform partner to ensure that message bodies match templates for an approved brand agent’s use case. If the templates do not meet the RCS Business Messaging Policy requirements, it is rejected. This ensure that only approved template messages are sent via RCS Business Messaging channels. 
  • Contact opt-in – Contacts must opt-in to receive RCS Business Messages on their mobile device. For more information, see the section: “How do I obtain consent (opt-in) to send my contacts RCS Business Messages?” 
  • Mobile marketing – for the promotional brand agent used for sales, marketing and promotional messaging campaigns the following business rules apply as per regulatory rules and accepted global best practice for mobile marketing to ensure consumer protection:
    • Do Not Contact Registry: in applicable markets, messages are scrubbed against a country’s Do Not Contact (DNC) registry. A DNC registry is a where consumers may elect to register their mobile phone number so as to not receive direct marketing messages from businesses.  
    • Business Hours: You should initiate RCS Business Messaging only during allowed during normal business hours. This is enforced by platform rules that limit messaging on a promotional brand agent to the normal business hours of the country to which the business is sending to.Noting, normal business hours vary between countries and between weekdays and weekends.  
    • In some countries, such as India, there are limits on the maximum number of application-to-person (A2P) (i.e. broadcast messages you send) per contact per month. Contact help@kero.chat to check on whether outgoing message sending limits apply to the country your are messaging in.
    • In some countries, such as India, there are incoming messages reply limits that apply when your respond back to person-to-application (P2A) messages (i.e. incoming messages from a contact). Contact help@kero.chat to check on whether incoming message sending reply apply to the country your are messaging in.

There are four categories of brand agents: 


  • OTP brand agents – OTP (One-time-password) brand agents are used to send RCS Business Messages for authenticating an account or for those transactions which are time-sensitive.   
  • Transactional brand agents – These brand agents are used to send notifications and information to existing contacts and are used in order fulfilment, appointment books confirmation, etc.  
  • Promotional agents – These promotional agents are used for sending sales, marketing and promotional messages to new or existing customers about new or existing or services or products.  
  • Multi-use brand agents – These brand agents send a combination of transactional and promotional messages, for example, sending an account notification followed by a discount offer for a new product or service.
  1. Update Google Messages: Ensure you have the latest version of Google Messages installed from the Google Play Store.
  2. Open Google Messages: Launch the Messages app on your Android device. 

  3. Check Settings for Chat Features:Tap on the three-dot menu (or the settings gear icon) within the Messages app. Look for and select “Chat features,” “RCS settings,” or something similar.
  4. Enable Chat Features/RCS: Toggle the switch to enable RCS if available. It might ask for your confirmation or acceptance of terms. 
  5. Verify Phone Number: If prompted, verify your phone number to activate RCS on your device. 


  6. Wait for Activation: Sometimes, activation might take a few moments to complete. Ensure you have a stable internet connection during this process. 
  7. Confirmation: Once activated, you’ll see a message indicating that Chat Features (RCS) are active. You might get access to enhanced messaging features like read receipts, typing indicators, higher-quality media sharing, and more.  If you don’t find the Chat Features or RCS Business Messaging settings in your messaging app, it could mean that your carrier/ mobile network or region doesn’t support RCS yet. 

Not all carriers/mobile network operator support RCS yet. However, RCS Business Messaging is being expanded to more carriers in due course. To check if your can use RCS on your iPhone: 

  1. Make sure you are running iOS 18.1 release or more recent update.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Tap About.
  5. Tap Carrier. This will show messaging support details. If your carrier supports RCS, you will see Voice, SMS & RCS. If your carrier doesn’t support 
RCS, you’ll see Voice & SMS. 

If you can’t find the RCS settings within the messaging app on your Apple device, it’s possible that your device or carrier/mobile network or region does not currently support RCS.

  1. Update your Huawei device: Ensure your device’s system and apps, especially the Messaging app, are updated to the latest version.
  2. Open the Messaging App: Launch the default Messaging app on your Huawei device.
  3. Access Messaging Settings: Tap on the three-dot menu or the settings gear icon within the Messaging app.
  4. Search for RCS/Chat Features: Look for options like “Chat features,” “Advanced messaging,” or “RCS settings.” These might be located under the settings of the Messaging app.
  5. Enable RCS/Chat Features: Toggle the switch to enable RCS or Chat Features.
  6. Verification: Follow any prompts that may ask for your confirmation or to verify your phone number to activate RCS on your device.
  7. Activation: Allow the system some time to activate RCS. Sometimes, it might take a few moments to establish the connection.
  8. Confirmation: Once activated, you should see a confirmation message indicating that Chat Features (RCS) are active.
    If you can’t find the RCS settings within the Messaging app on your Huawei device, it’s possible that your device or carrier/ mobile network does not currently support RCS.