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man glossary/rcs-business-messaging

glossary define rcs-business-messaging

Name

RCS Business Messaging(RBM)

Carrier-delivered business messaging in the phone's built-in messages app, with a verified sender, rich cards, carousels and suggested replies.

Synopsis

RBM, RCS for Business, Business RCS, RCS messaging, Rich Communication Services

Section

CPaaS & channels

Level

foundation

▍

Reviewed

Play an RBM conversation in the phone's messages app

4 / 4
Bengaluru RainwearOfficial business account

Today

  1. Bengaluru Rainwear: PhotoMonsoon is here. Our rain-ready range is live — swipe through this week's picks below.10:30
  2. Bengaluru Rainwear: This week's picks10:31Card 1: Packable rain jacketViewFind a storeCard 2: Kids' raincoatViewFind a storeCard 3: Dry-bag backpackViewFind a store
  3. Customer: Shared locationIndiranagar, Bengaluru10:32
  4. Bengaluru Rainwear: Nearest store: Indiranagar12th Main Road · open until 9 pm10:33

Message 4 of 4

Bengaluru RainwearLocation

In RCS this is a rich card with a map image and a View location suggested action that opens the phone's maps app.

A location pin with a name and address that opens in the customer’s maps app.

A verified agent sends a rich card and a carousel, the customer shares a location with one tap, and the agent replies with the nearest store. Step through each bubble and read what RCS adds over SMS.

Message 4 of 4: Bengaluru Rainwear, Location. In RCS this is a rich card with a map image and a View location suggested action that opens the phone's maps app.

Description

What is RCS Business Messaging?

RCS Business Messaging (RBM) is the business side of RCS (Rich Communication Services), the GSMA standard that upgrades SMS inside the phone's own messages app. A business sends from a verified RCS agent — its name, logo and colour shown at the top of the thread — and can use what plain SMS lacks: rich cards with an image, title, description and buttons; carousels of 2 to 10 cards; suggested replies and suggested actions that dial a number, open a URL, show or share a location or add a calendar event; plus delivery receipts, read receipts and typing indicators. Google, which runs the main RBM platform, now calls it RCS for Business.

RBM travels over mobile data or Wi-Fi like an over-the-top app, but it is a carrier channel: there is nothing to install, the conversation lives in Google Messages on Android, and it reaches only users whose phone, messages app and operator have RCS turned on. iPhones support RCS from iOS 18 on supported carriers, but business messaging on iPhone varies by country and carrier. Everyone RBM cannot reach needs a fallback channel, usually SMS (Short Message Service), so senders either check capability first or react to the platform's "not RCS-capable" response.

RCS business messaging is available in India through Google's RBM on major networks and follows DLT rules: agents are tied to the brand's DLT principal entity, multi-use agents have not been offered, new promotional agents face reputation-based volume limits, and Google restricts the hours in which businesses may start conversations. Since March 2026 Airtel has also agreed to carry RCS business messages through its spam filter, ending its hold-out. Compared with WhatsApp, RBM needs no separate app but its reach depends on device and operator support and its commerce and support tooling is thinner; compared with SMS, it adds branding and interactivity but loses universal reach. The sender identity and its approval are covered on the RCS agent page.

Key takeaways

  • RCS Business Messaging (RBM) lets a verified brand send rich cards, carousels and tappable suggestions in the phone's own messages app.
  • It needs no extra app, but reaches only users whose phone, messages app and operator support RCS; everyone else needs SMS.
  • A send to a number that cannot receive RCS returns 404 NOT_FOUND, which is the cue to fall back to SMS.
  • In India, RBM follows DLT rules: agents are tied to the brand's principal entity, and business-initiated sends are limited to permitted hours.
  • Limits: text up to 3,072 characters, carousels of 2–10 cards, up to 11 suggestions per message and 25 characters per label.

Usage

RCS Business Messaging in code

# {REGION} must match the agent's hosting region
curl -X POST "https://{REGION}-rcsbusinessmessaging.googleapis.com/v1/phones/+919812345678/agentMessages?messageId=od-48213-out&agentId={AGENT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "contentMessage": {
      "richCard": {
        "standaloneCard": {
          "cardOrientation": "VERTICAL",
          "cardContent": {
            "title": "Order OD-48213 is out for delivery",
            "description": "Arriving today between 4 and 6 pm.",
            "media": {
              "height": "TALL",
              "contentInfo": { "fileUrl": "https://example.com/rcs/van.jpg" }
            },
            "suggestions": [
              { "reply": { "text": "Reschedule", "postbackData": "reschedule:OD-48213" } },
              { "action": { "text": "Call courier", "postbackData": "call:OD-48213",
                  "dialAction": { "phoneNumber": "+918000000000" } } },
              { "action": { "text": "Track live", "postbackData": "track:OD-48213",
                  "openUrlAction": { "url": "https://example.com/track/OD-48213" } } }
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "ttl": "7200s"
  }'
 
# 200 OK          -> accepted; DELIVERED and READ arrive later on your webhook
# 404 NOT_FOUND   -> this number cannot receive RCS from the agent: send SMS instead

One rich card with a reply chip and two suggested actions. The 404 branch is your SMS fallback trigger.

Mechanics

How does RCS Business Messaging work?

  1. step 1 — Launch an agent

    Create an RCS agent with its branding and use case, pass brand verification and get it approved on each carrier. Until then it can message invited test devices only.

  2. step 2 — Send to the phone number

    POST an AgentMessage to the agentMessages endpoint for the user's number. A 404 NOT_FOUND means the number cannot receive RCS from this agent right now — send SMS instead.

  3. step 3 — Build the content

    Use contentMessage for text up to 3,072 characters, a file up to 100 MiB, or a richCard (standalone or a carousel of 2–10 cards). Add up to 11 suggestions per message, or 4 per card, each labelled in 25 characters or fewer.

  4. step 4 — Receive events on your webhook

    The platform posts user events — DELIVERED, READ, IS_TYPING — and user messages, including taps on suggestions that echo back your postbackData.

  5. step 5 — Expire or revoke, then fall back

    If the phone is offline the platform keeps trying, so set ttl or expireTime (up to 15 days) on time-sensitive messages. If no DELIVERED event arrives in time, revoke the undelivered message and send the SMS version.

Properties

RCS Business Messaging: key facts and limits

Where it shows
The phone's built-in messages app
Text message
Up to 3,072 characters
Carousel
2–10 rich cards
Suggestions
Up to 11 per message, 4 per rich card, 25-character labels
Files
Up to 100 MiB per message
Not RCS-capable
Send returns 404 NOT_FOUND
India rules
DLT-linked agents; business-initiated sends only in permitted hours
Usual fallback
SMS with a DLT-registered template

Why it matters

Why does RCS Business Messaging matter?

RBM is the upgrade path for SMS traffic that deserves more than 160 characters — a delivery update with "Reschedule" and "Call courier" buttons, a boarding pass with a map, an offer carousel. In Android-heavy markets such as India it reaches people in the app they already open for OTPs, under a verified brand instead of a sender code, and it falls back to SMS when RCS is unavailable. That lets marketers and developers treat it as a richer first attempt on the same phone-number list rather than a separate audience to build.

Example

Example: Delivery updates for a Bengaluru rainwear brand

A Bengaluru rainwear brand sends every shipping update as an RCS rich card with "Reschedule", "Call courier" and "Track live" suggestions. Numbers that return 404 get the same update as a single-segment SMS from the brand's DLT header, and customers who prefer WhatsApp — because they already chat with the brand there — get a utility template instead. Rescheduling requests arrive as postbackData on the brand's webhook, so the courier slot changes without an agent typing anything. For its monsoon campaign the brand uses a separate promotional agent, starts with small daily volumes while the agent's reputation builds, and schedules every send inside the permitted daytime hours.

Caveats

Common mistakes with RCS Business Messaging

  • Sending RCS and SMS at the same time

    Firing both channels "to be safe" means many customers get the message twice. Send RCS first, wait for DELIVERED with a timer, revoke anything undelivered, and only then send SMS.

  • Caching RCS capability forever

    Users switch phones, messages apps and SIMs, and turn chat features off. Treat capability as something that changes: react to 404 on every send instead of trusting a list built months ago.

  • Mixing promotions into a transactional agent

    Each agent's use case limits what it may send, and India does not offer multi-use agents. Put offers on a promotional agent and keep order and account updates on a transactional one.

  • Ignoring India's hours and reputation caps

    Business-initiated messages outside the permitted hours break Google's India rules, and a new promotional agent starts with low reputation and tight limits. Check the current RBM India guidelines, ramp volume gradually and schedule sends inside the window.

  • Designing the card first and the SMS last

    The SMS fallback has to stand on its own in 160 GSM-7 characters with a registered DLT template. Write that version first, then enrich it for RCS, so both say the same thing.

Notes

Best practices for RCS Business Messaging

  • Put the key fact in the card title; descriptions get cut short in carousels.
  • Read taps from postbackData rather than parsing the label text, so you can rename buttons safely.
  • Use TALL media height so cards render consistently, including on iPhones that support RCS.
  • Report RCS and SMS delivery side by side per campaign, so the real reach of each is visible.

Questions

RBM FAQs

Is RCS Business Messaging available in India?
Yes. RCS business messaging is available in India through Google's RBM on major networks and follows DLT rules: agents are tied to the brand's DLT principal entity, and business-initiated conversations are limited to permitted hours.
What is the difference between RCS and SMS?
RCS adds a verified brand, rich cards, carousels, buttons and read receipts inside the same messages app that shows SMS. SMS reaches every phone without data; RCS needs a capable phone, app and operator, so SMS remains its fallback.
Should a business use RCS or WhatsApp?
Use WhatsApp where customers already chat with you and you need two-way support, templates or in-chat commerce. Use RCS to upgrade existing SMS traffic for Android users without asking them to install or open another app, with SMS behind it.
Does RCS business messaging work on iPhone?
Partly. iPhones support RCS from iOS 18 on supported carriers, but business messaging on iPhone varies by country and carrier, so keep an SMS fallback for iPhone users.
What happens if a customer's phone does not support RCS?
The send fails with 404 NOT_FOUND and nothing is delivered. Your system should then send the SMS version of the message, ideally the same wording, from your registered sender ID.

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