In this article, you will learn how to create an RCS service and then set it up step by step. Once the service has been created, we will guide you through the configuration, including display name, description, colors, logo and banner. You will get a preview of how your RCS service will look to users. Here you will find all the important information you need to successfully launch your RCS service.
Create RCS service
In the Settings > Sender Identifiers area, you will find the button to create your RCS service.
To start a new RCS service, you need to enter some basic information.
The following data is required to set up the RCS service:
Brand
Enter the name of your brand under which the RCS service runs. This name is not displayed to users and is only used to combine several services into one brand and for verification with the network operators.
Display name
The display name is shown to users when they receive a message from your RCS service. It should be short and clearly represent your brand.
Billing category
When setting up an RCS service, you must select the appropriate billing category, which determines how sent messages are billed.
Simple Message
A simple message contains a maximum of 160 characters. Extended functions such as sending images, reply buttons or carousels are possible.Single Message
A single message can contain a maximum of 3072 characters and enables the sending of rich content such as images, carousels and more. Each message sent is billed individually.Conversation
Like a single message, but all subsequent messages to a recipient within 24 hours are free of charge once the recipient has replied or otherwise responded to a message.
Use case
Specify the way in which your RCS service is used.
Advertising / marketing
Advertising / marketing messages aim to draw users' attention to products, offers or promotions in order to promote sales or increase interest in the brand.Transactional
Transactional messages inform users about the status of actions such as orders, payments or appointments and are used to provide important, time-critical information without advertising content.One-time password (OTP)
One-time password (OTP) messages send users temporary codes to confirm their identity or authenticate actions, such as login or security-critical transactions.Multiple use cases
The service can only be used for conversations where both transactional messages and marketing content are sent.
For the use cases Advertising, Transactional and Multiple use cases, the recipient is shown “Block and report” in the conversation. This only does not appear for one-time passwords (OTP).
Once this information has been entered, your RCS service is created and you can configure the display of the service.
Set up RCS service
Once the service has been created, the detailed setup takes place. Here you can see what the configuration will look like and get a preview of the final look of your service.
All information provided here is displayed directly to the user. On the right-hand side, you will see a preview of your RCS service in a conversation and the page with the service information.
General information
Display name: The name that users see in their messages.
Description: A short description of the service that informs users about its purpose.
Layout
Color: Choose a color that represents your brand.
Logo: Your company logo that will be displayed in the messages. The file must not be larger than 50kb and should be square with a resolution of 224x224.
Banner: A banner image to visually support your brand. The file may be a maximum of 50kb in size and should have a resolution of 1440x448.
Contact
E-mail address: Contact address to which users can turn if they have any questions.
Telephone: Telephone number for direct support.
Website: URL to the main page of your company.
Privacy URL: Link to your privacy policy.
Terms of use URL: Link to your general terms of use.
Test your RCS serviceice
Next, enter one or more test number(s) for the RCS service that you would like to use to test your RCS messages.
RCS messages can only be sent to numbers stored here as long as the service has not yet been started.
In the RCS service, click on Settings in the menu on the left.
There you have the option of inviting telephone numbers to test the service.
Enter the phone number and click the Invite button. The phone number will then receive an automated RCS message from Google to confirm the request as a tester. To do this, click on the Make me a tester button in the message.
You have done it! You can now send RCS messages to the test number(s) via our web app, via HTTP API or via Mail API and start implementing your RCS service.
As soon as your service has been completed and sufficiently tested, you can submit it to the network operators for launch.
As soon as you have implemented your service you could launch your service.