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RCS Business Messaging (Beta)

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the carrier-native upgrade to SMS. Instead of a plain grey text bubble, your messages arrive in the recipient's default messages app from a branded, verified sender — with your business name, logo and a verified checkmark — and can include rich cards, images and video, suggested replies, and suggested actions like "Call", "Open link" or "Share location". RCS works in the native messaging app on Android (and on supported iPhones), with SMS as the natural fallback when a recipient's device or carrier doesn't support RCS.

Compared with SMS, RCS gives you:

  • A branded, verified sender — your business name and logo instead of a short code or number.
  • Rich content — images, video, audio and documents, delivered inside styled cards.
  • Interactivity — suggested replies and suggested actions (open a URL, dial a number, share a location) that render as tappable chips.
  • Rich carousels — 2–10 scrollable cards in a single message.
  • Delivery signals — read receipts and typing indicators, so conversations feel real-time.
How to get access

RCS on SendSeven is currently in beta and available to selected businesses in Germany only.

To use RCS you must be a verified business, and because pricing and the exact offer depend heavily on your use case, there is no self-serve sign-up or "connect RCS" flow. Onboarding — business verification, sender branding and provisioning — is handled by our team.

If you're interested in RCS, contact us at [email protected]. Tell us about your use case and message volume, and we'll walk you through eligibility, branding and pricing.

Eligibility at a glance​

RequirementDetail
RegionGermany only (during beta)
Business statusMust be a verified business
AvailabilityBeta — selected customers
PricingDepends on your use case — no self-serve price
OnboardingHandled by the SendSeven team via [email protected]

Capabilities​

Once your RCS channel is live, it behaves like any other channel in the unified API, with a rich feature set:

FeatureSupportedNotes
TextYesUp to 3,072 characters — longer text auto-splits into ordered messages
ImagesYesDelivered in a rich card
VideoYesDelivered in a rich card
AudioYesDelivered in a rich card
DocumentsYesPDF, in a rich card
Rich cardsYesTitle + description + media + suggestions
CarouselsYes2–10 scrollable cards
Suggested repliesYesTappable reply chips
Suggested actionsYesOpen URL / dial number / share location
ReactionsYesEmoji reactions
Read receiptsYes
Typing indicatorsYes

Suggestion budget: Suggested replies and suggested actions share a single budget of up to 11 suggestions per message, and a maximum of 4 suggestions per card. Design your chips within that limit so nothing is dropped.

For the full side-by-side comparison of message types, length limits and media size caps across every channel, see Channel Capabilities & Limits.

Delivery model​

RCS is more flexible than WhatsApp — there is no template approval process and no 24-hour messaging window. Once a contact is opted in, you can message them at any time.

That flexibility comes with responsibility:

  • Consent and opt-out are the sender's responsibility. You must have a lawful basis to message each recipient and honour opt-out/STOP requests promptly. German consumer-protection law (UWG) applies — treat RCS like SMS marketing, not like a channel with a platform-enforced window.
  • Reachability depends on the recipient's device and carrier. RCS is only delivered when the recipient's device and mobile network support it. Where RCS isn't available, SMS is the natural fallback.
  • RCS keys on the phone number in E.164 format (+491701234567), the same identity as SMS and WhatsApp. Conversations still stay per-channel, so an RCS thread is distinct from that contact's SMS or WhatsApp thread even though the phone number matches.
Channel propertyRCS
Template approvalNot required
24-hour windowNone — send anytime to opted-in contacts
Contact identityPhone number (E.164)
Consent / opt-outSender's responsibility (UWG applies)
FallbackSMS where RCS isn't supported

Required Scopes​

ScopePurpose
channels:readView channel details and capabilities
messages:createSend messages through the channel

RCS channels are provisioned by our team, so you don't create or configure them via the API — there are no channels:create / channels:update steps for RCS.

Sending messages on RCS​

After our team has provisioned your RCS channel, sending is identical to any other channel: use the same unified messaging endpoints and pass your RCS channel_id. There is nothing RCS-specific in the request shape.

curl -X POST "https://api.sendseven.com/api/v1/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer s7_api_a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef00" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "contact_id": "contact_xyz789",
    "channel_id": "ch_rcs_001",
    "text": "Your order has shipped! Track it here: https://track.example.com/12345",
    "message_type": "text"
  }'

From there, reach for the shared messaging guides — every one works on RCS:

tip

Unlike WhatsApp, RCS has no messaging window and no approved-template requirement — you can send free-form rich messages to opted-in contacts anytime. Make sure you have consent and honour opt-outs, since that responsibility sits with you, not the platform.

Next Steps​