Send branded, interactive messages straight to your customers’ phone messaging app, with your logo, a verified sender name, rich cards and tap-to-reply buttons. If a phone can’t receive RCS, everymessage sends a web version or a standard SMS instead, so every customer still gets your message.
What is RCS Business Messaging?
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the upgrade to SMS built into modern phones’ default messaging app. RCS Business Messaging lets a company send messages from a verified, branded sender, with images, rich cards, carousels and suggested-reply buttons, instead of plain text from a number. Customers don’t need to download an app: messages arrive in the same inbox as their texts.
everymessage is a UK messaging platform that has been helping organisations communicate with their customers since 2003. We provide RCS alongside SMS, WhatsApp and email, all from one platform, with UK hosting and ISO 27001 certification.
What you can send with RCS
A verified, branded sender
Messages show your company name, logo and brand colour with a verified tick, so customers can trust they come from you and not a scammer.
Rich cards and carousels
Combine an image, title, description and buttons in a single card, or let customers swipe through several cards, such as products, appointments or offers.
Suggested replies and actions
Tap-to-reply buttons (“Confirm”, “Reschedule”, “Speak to someone”) plus actions that open a website, dial a number or show a location.
Two-way conversations
Customer replies come back into your everymessage inbox, and can trigger automated workflows or be sent to your own systems by webhook.
Personalised at scale
Merge customer data into every message, and send to one person or an entire group from the same template.
Delivery tracking
See what was delivered by RCS, by web link or by SMS, with delivery reports in the portal and through the API.
What happens if a customer’s phone doesn’t support RCS?
Not every phone can receive RCS yet. everymessage checks each recipient and automatically picks the best channel, so nobody misses your message:
RCS
Phones that support RCS get the full branded, interactive message in their messaging app.
Branded web version
Other phones can get an SMS with a personal short link that opens the same rich message as a branded web page. Button taps still come back to you as replies.
Standard SMS
Or choose a plain-text SMS fallback. Either way, every customer is reached and you only pay for what’s sent.
You choose the fallback for each send: a plain SMS, or a link to the web version of the rich message.
RCS vs SMS: what’s the difference?
| SMS | RCS Business Messaging | |
|---|---|---|
| Sender | Number or text sender ID | Verified brand name, logo and colour |
| Content | Plain text, 160 characters per segment | Rich cards, carousels, images and longer messages |
| Interaction | Customer types a reply | Tap-to-reply buttons and actions (open link, call, map) |
| Trust | Easy for fraudsters to spoof | Brand verified before you can send |
| Reach | Every mobile phone | Phones with RCS enabled; everymessage falls back to web or SMS for the rest |
| Best for | Short alerts, one-time passcodes, universal reach | Engaging journeys: reminders, payments, offers, customer service |
How UK businesses use RCS
Appointment reminders
Show the time, place and a map, with “Confirm” and “Reschedule” buttons, to cut no-shows without phone calls.
Payments and collections
Send a clear, branded balance reminder with a “Pay now” button, so customers can trust the message is genuine.
Offers and campaigns
Show products in a swipeable carousel with images and links, which gets more engagement than a text link.
Customer service
Offer quick-reply menus that answer common questions automatically, and hand complex ones to your team.
Delivery and service updates
Send status updates customers can act on: track, rearrange or contact you in one tap.
How to get started with RCS
- Book a discovery call. We’ll look at your current messaging and where RCS will make the biggest difference.
- Brand verification. We set up your RCS agent (your branded sender) and take it through verification with Google and the mobile networks.
- Design your messages. Build rich cards and carousels in the everymessage Template Designer, with a live preview and no coding needed.
- Send. Send to individuals or groups from the everymessage portal, or integrate through our API. Replies and delivery reports flow back to the portal, your workflows or your systems by webhook.
Secure, UK-based and compliant
- ISO 27001 certified since 2009
- Hosted in UK data centres, with high availability across the UK and EU
- Developed and supported by our own team in the UK
- Built for UK GDPR, with opt-out links available on rich messages
- One platform for RCS, SMS, WhatsApp and email, so there’s one supplier to vet
RCS Business Messaging FAQs
Do customers need to download an app to receive RCS messages?
No. RCS messages arrive in the phone’s built-in messaging app, such as Google Messages on Android, in the same place as their text messages.
Which phones support RCS?
Most modern Android phones support RCS through Google Messages, and Apple added RCS to iPhone with iOS 18. Whether a particular phone receives business RCS messages depends on the handset, its settings and the mobile network. everymessage checks each recipient automatically and sends a web version or an SMS to any phone that can’t receive RCS.
What happens if a customer can’t receive RCS?
You choose the fallback. everymessage can send a standard SMS, or an SMS containing a personal link to a branded web version of the same rich message. Buttons on the web version still send replies back to you.
Is RCS more secure than SMS?
RCS business senders are verified before they can message customers, and messages show the brand’s name and logo with a verification mark. That makes RCS much harder to spoof than SMS sender IDs, which helps protect customers from phishing.
How long does it take to set up RCS?
The main step is verifying your brand and RCS agent with Google and the mobile networks. We handle the process for you and keep you updated. While verification is in progress, you can design and test your message templates.
Can I send RCS messages through an API?
Yes. The everymessage API supports RCS rich messages, personalised fields for each recipient, and a choice of web or SMS fallback. Delivery reports and customer replies can be sent to your systems by webhook.
Can I use RCS and SMS together?
Yes. Many customers use RCS for engaging journeys and SMS for one-time passcodes and short alerts. everymessage runs RCS, SMS, WhatsApp and email from one platform, so you can pick the right channel for each message.
See what RCS could do for your customers
Book a free discovery call and we’ll show you how a branded, interactive RCS journey would work for your business.