RCS MessagingMarketing

Rich, branded messages in the phone’s own Messages app

Your logo and verified name, images, carousels and tap-to-act buttons — no app to install. Phones that cannot receive RCS get an SMS instead, automatically.

Messages people recognise and can act on, read receipts that tell you they were seen, and an SMS fallback so nobody is missed.

Start free See how it worksIncluded in every plan
Verified sender
your brand name and logo, checked by Google
From ~₹0.12
transactional, at your vendor's rate
SMS fallback
for handsets without RCS

What you need to start

  • A verified RCS bot at your vendor — allow 2 to 6 weeks the first time
  • Templates approved by the operators
  • For SMS fallback: DLT registration and an approved SMS template

The problem

“SMS is 160 characters of plain text from a six-letter code. It cannot show a product, and nobody can tell it is really you.”

  • A customer cannot tell a real SMS from a scam one. RCS shows your verified name and logo.
  • A link in an SMS is one thing to tap. A carousel is ten products, each with its own button.
  • Not every phone has RCS — and most platforms leave the ones that do not with nothing.

Inside the panel

This is the screen you will work in

Not a stock illustration — the real layout, the real filters, the real labels from the module itself. You will find it at Dashboard → RCS Messaging.

app · Dashboard / RCS Messaging

RCS Messaging

New RCS campaign

In Invite Store verified

Festive range is live

Hi Priya, 8 new looks — free delivery till Sunday.

Shop nowCall us

Festive launch

Finished

40,118

Sent

38,640

Delivered

27,904

Read

1,212

Replied

Delivered as RCS24,870
Sent as SMS instead — no RCS on the handset15,248

2,304 skipped: already had 2 promotional messages in 28 days

An illustration of the real panel, drawn from the same design system — not a live demo.

Step by step

How it actually works

From the first day to steady state, in 5 steps. Every one of these is something the panel genuinely does — nothing here is on a roadmap.

  1. 01

    Get your RCS bot verified

    2–6 weeks, once

    Through your vendor you submit your brand, logo and use case; Google verifies the brand and each operator approves the launch. This is the one step nobody can hurry.

    • India needs separate bots for promotional and transactional traffic
    • MSG91 runs the process and hosts the bot
  2. 02

    Connect the vendor and the bot

    5 minutes

    Paste your MSG91 key and the bot's project id. The same key also covers SMS.

    • One connection for both channels
    • The key is tested as you save it
  3. 03

    Import your approved templates

    1 minute

    Indian operators deliver only pre-approved RCS templates. One button pulls every approved text, rich card and carousel from your vendor.

    • Cards and buttons are edited at the vendor, then re-imported
    • Set each one as promotional or transactional
  4. 04

    Build the campaign

    5 minutes

    The same audience, variables and pacing as SMS. Switch on SMS fallback and choose the DLT template to use for it.

    • Frequency cap defaults to 2 per person per 28 days for promotional — Google's limit for a new bot
    • 10am–9pm window for promotional
  5. 05

    Send, and read who actually saw it

    as long as it takes

    Delivered and read receipts come back per number. A handset that turns out not to have RCS gets the SMS.

    • "Sent as SMS instead" counted separately
    • Replies and STOP handled automatically

RCS is only worth its price if the people without it are not simply skipped. The fallback is what makes it a channel rather than an experiment.

Setting it up

What you actually click

Six steps, in order, with the screen each one lives on. No developer and no integration project — this is all done in the panel.

Time to set up
about 15 minutes, after the bot is verified (2–6 weeks)
Before you start
A verified RCS bot and approved templates at MSG91
Start free
  1. 1

    Register the bot

    MSG91 → RCS → Registration

    Brand name, logo, banner, website, privacy policy and proof of opt-in. Google verifies the brand, then each operator approves. Promotional and transactional need separate bots in India.

  2. 2

    Connect MSG91

    RCS Messaging → Vendor → Connect

    The auth key and the bot's project id. If you already connected MSG91 for SMS, edit that connection and switch RCS on.

  3. 3

    Add the delivery-report URL

    MSG91 → Webhook (New) → RCS

    Paste the same webhook URL, this time with the service set to RCS. Read receipts and replies arrive through it.

  4. 4

    Import templates

    RCS Messaging → Templates → Import

    Pulls every approved template for that bot. Mark each as promotional or transactional.

  5. 5

    Set up the fallback

    Bulk SMS → Templates

    Add a DLT-approved SMS template that says the same thing in plain text. It is sent to phones that cannot receive RCS.

  6. 6

    Send

    RCS Messaging → Campaigns → New

    Choose the template, switch on SMS fallback, leave the frequency cap at 2 per 28 days for promotional, check, test and send.

The short version

What it does about it

01

People can see it is you

A verified brand name and logo at the top of the conversation, instead of a six-character code.

02

Show, do not describe

Rich cards with an image and buttons, and carousels of up to ten — call, open a link, view a location.

03

Nobody is left out

A phone without RCS gets the SMS fallback, so the campaign reaches the whole list and the report shows which went how.

04

You know it was read

Read receipts, not just delivery. Read rate is the number SMS can never give you.

05

It will not get your bot penalised

Google drops promotional RCS past a per-person limit and still bills it. The frequency cap skips those people before you pay.

In detail

Everything it does

The whole list, grouped. If something you need is not here, ask — we would rather tell you it does not exist than let you find out in week two.

Messages

  • Text, rich card and carousel templates
  • Suggested replies and action buttons
  • Per-person variables
  • Templates imported from your vendor

Delivery

  • Automatic SMS fallback with a DLT template
  • Paced, resumable long campaigns
  • Frequency cap per person
  • 10am–9pm window for promotional
  • Schedule and repeat

Reporting

  • Sent, delivered and read per number
  • Replies captured
  • "Sent as SMS instead" counted
  • Failure reasons grouped
  • CSV export

Safety

  • Do-not-message list shared with SMS
  • STOP and "opted out" handled automatically
  • Circuit breaker on failure rate
  • Pauses on an empty wallet

In practice

Three businesses, three ways

A fashion brand

New collection launch to 40,000 customers.

→A carousel of eight looks, each with a "Shop now" button. Android users got the carousel; the rest got an SMS with the link.

A clinic

Appointment reminders that people ignore as SMS.

→A card with the doctor's name, the time, and Confirm / Reschedule buttons — and a read receipt on each.

A bank

Customers distrust SMS because of fraud.

→Alerts arrive under the bank's verified name and logo.

Before you commit

The specifics

Limits and facts

Vendor
MSG91 — your own account and bot
Message cost
Billed by MSG91: about ₹0.12 transactional, ₹0.32 promotional
Vendor plan
From ₹2,000 a month per bot, credited to your RCS wallet
Reach
Android with Google Messages on Jio, Airtel and Vi; iPhone on Jio
RCS a month
Metered per plan

What you need first

  • A verified RCS bot at your vendor — allow 2 to 6 weeks the first time
  • Templates approved by the operators
  • For SMS fallback: DLT registration and an approved SMS template

Pricing

Two ways to get it

Take this module on its own, or as part of a plan that includes it. Either way the price is the software only — WhatsApp conversations are billed to you by Meta at their rates.

On its own

RCS Messaging

Included in every plan

Start free

Or as part of a plan

Plans that include it

This module is sold on its own at the moment.

A bundle is usually cheaper than three modules bought separately — and add-ons only ever add, so nothing you already have is affected.

Questions

Does RCS work on every phone?

No. It needs Android with Google Messages, or an iPhone on a network that supports it — in India that is currently Jio. That is exactly why SMS fallback exists: phones without RCS get the SMS.

What does it cost?

MSG91 bills you directly: roughly ₹0.12 for a transactional message and ₹0.32 for a promotional one, with a monthly plan per bot from ₹2,000 that becomes wallet credit. We charge for the software, not the messages.

Why can I not just type a message and send it?

Indian operators only deliver RCS templates they have approved. You create and submit them in your vendor's panel, and import them here.

How long until I can send?

Bot verification by Google and the operators takes 2 to 6 weeks the first time. You can use Bulk SMS from day one while you wait.

Do I need DLT for RCS?

Not for RCS itself. You do need it for the SMS fallback, because that is an ordinary SMS.

Works well with

The modules people add next

Bulk SMS

DLT-ready SMS through your own vendor account. Long campaigns are paced, survive a restart, pause themselves when something is wrong, and are reported number by number.

Included

WhatsApp Campaigns

Approved templates, scheduled or immediate, with per-message delivery and read reporting — and Meta billing you directly at their rates.

From ₹499/mo

Catalogue & Orders

Show products in WhatsApp, take the order in the conversation, and keep stock and history in the same panel.

From ₹299/mo

Try it before you pay anything

Connect a number, import your contacts, and see whether it fits how you work.

Start free See the other modules