RCS Prerequisites

RCS (Rich Communication Services) Business Messaging lets your business send rich, interactive messages — images, carousels, suggested replies, and more — through the native Android messaging app. Before you can send production RCS messages through EnableX, you must complete the steps below. The setup process involves both technical configuration and a carrier-managed registration and verification workflow that takes days to weeks.

EnableX Account and Project

All RCS messaging is tied to an EnableX project. If you do not have an account yet, sign up at portal.enablex.io.

Create a Project and Obtain API Credentials

Follow these steps to create a project and enable the RCS channel:

1. Log in to the EnableX Portal and navigate to My Projects.
2. Click CREATE PROJECT.
3. Enter a project name and description.
4. In the Channels section, enable RCS services.
5. Click CREATE PROJECT to confirm.

On successful creation, a confirmation popup displays your APP ID and APP Key. These credentials are also emailed to your registered address. Save them securely — every RCS API call requires them in the Authorization header.

RBM Agent Registration

In RCS, your business does not send messages from a phone number — it sends from a verified RBM (Rich Business Messaging) Agent. An RBM Agent is a verified identity registered with Google's RCS Business Messaging platform. The agent carries your brand name, logo, description, and contact details, all of which appear directly in the user's messaging thread.

Every RCS API call you make includes an agent parameter that references your registered agent name. EnableX provisions and manages the agent registration on your behalf — you do not interact with Google's platform directly.

What Is an RBM Agent?

An RBM Agent is the business identity that users see when they receive an RCS message from you. Unlike SMS — where the sender appears as a phone number or alphanumeric Sender ID — the RBM Agent shows:

• Your business name
• Your brand logo
• A short business description
• Contact information (website, phone, email)
• A verified badge confirming the business identity

This verified, branded presence builds user trust and distinguishes RCS from unbranded SMS.

How to Register Your RBM Agent

To register your business as an RBM Agent through EnableX:

1. Contact EnableX support or your EnableX account manager to initiate the agent registration request.
2. Provide the following information for your agent profile:

3. EnableX submits the agent registration request to Google's RBM platform on your behalf.
4. Once submitted, the agent enters a review queue managed by Google and participating carriers.

Agent Verification and Launch

After your agent registration is submitted, it goes through a two-stage process before it can send production messages: verification and launch.

Verification Stage

During verification, Google and the relevant carriers review your agent profile to confirm that:

• The business identity is legitimate and matches the provided documentation
• The agent's use case complies with RCS Business Messaging policies
• The brand assets (logo, name) are consistent with the registered business

The verification outcome is one of: approved, rejected, or requires changes. If changes are required, EnableX will relay the feedback and help you resubmit.

Launch Stage

Verification alone does not enable production messaging. After verification, the agent must be launched by the participating carriers in your target markets. The launch process activates the agent on carrier infrastructure so that messages can be delivered to end users on those networks.

Test Mode During Verification

While your agent is awaiting verification and launch, you can still develop and test your RCS integration using test mode. In test mode:

• Messages can be sent to a limited set of pre-registered test phone numbers
• The full RCS message experience is available — text, rich cards, carousels, and suggestions all render normally on test devices
• Test messages are not subject to production carrier routing or template requirements

Contact EnableX to obtain test device numbers and enable test mode for your agent during the verification period.

Message Templates

Template requirements for RCS differ significantly by country. Understanding these rules before you build your integration prevents surprises at send time.

India — Templates Are Mandatory

In India, business-initiated messages require a pre-approved template. You cannot send any message to initiate a new conversation without a template — the API will reject the request.

Once a user responds to your message, a 24-hour session window opens. Within this window, you can send any message type (text, rich card, carousel) without a template. When the session expires, the next business-initiated message again requires a template.

To create and submit templates for approval:

1. Use the EnableX RCS Template API (POST /rcs/v1/templates) to define your template content.
2. Templates support three content types: text, card (rich card), and carousel.
3. Text templates can include dynamic placeholders using square bracket syntax — for example, [name] or [order_id].
4. Submit the template for RBM approval. Templates are typically reviewed within minutes to 24 hours.

Outside India — Templates Are Optional

Outside India, there is no mandatory template requirement for initiating conversations. You can send any supported message type — text, rich card, or carousel — at any time without prior template approval.

However, templates are still recommended for branding consistency. Using templates for your standard message types ensures that the content, structure, and tone remain uniform across all sends, and makes it easier to manage campaigns at scale.

Fallback Strategy

RCS is not universally supported. It requires Android devices running a compatible version of Google Messages (or another RCS-capable messaging app) on a network where RCS has been activated. Users on iOS, older Android devices, or unsupported carriers will not receive RCS messages.

To ensure these users still receive your message, you must configure a fallback SMS text. When the EnableX API detects that the recipient's device does not support RCS, it automatically delivers the fallback text as a standard SMS — no separate API call is needed.

How Fallback Works

Include the fallback_text parameter in every RCS API call:

{
  "type": "card",
  "phone": "+919876543210",
  "agent": "your-agent-name",
  "card": {
    "title": "Your order has shipped",
    "description": "Tap to track your delivery.",
    "url": "https://example.com/shipment-banner.jpg",
    "suggestions": [
      {
        "type": "open_url",
        "text": "Track Order",
        "url": "https://example.com/track/ORD-78432",
        "postback": "track_order"
      }
    ]
  },
  "fallback_text": "Your order ORD-78432 has shipped. Track it at https://example.com/track/ORD-78432"
}

If the recipient can receive RCS, they see the rich card. If not, they receive the plain SMS fallback text. The same message_id is used for delivery tracking regardless of which channel was used.

Fallback Content Guidelines

• Keep fallback text under 160 characters when possible to avoid multi-segment SMS charges
• Include all key information from the rich message — the user on SMS should receive equivalent value
• For cards and carousels with URLs, include the most relevant URL in the fallback text
• Avoid formatting markup in fallback text — it renders as plain characters in SMS

Webhook Configuration

RCS is a two-way messaging channel. Your webhook receives asynchronous events from the EnableX platform: delivery status updates, incoming user messages, suggestion responses, read receipts, and template status notifications.

Webhook Requirements

Your webhook endpoint must meet the following requirements:

Events Delivered to Your Webhook

Configure your webhook URL in the EnableX Portal under your RCS project settings. The following event types will be posted to your endpoint:

Setting Up Your Webhook

1. Deploy your webhook endpoint at a publicly accessible HTTPS URL.
2. Log in to the EnableX Portal and navigate to your RCS project settings.
3. Enter your webhook URL in the designated field and save.
4. Send a test message via the portal or API to verify that events arrive at your endpoint.
5. Confirm your endpoint returns HTTP 200 for each received event.

Supported Regions

RCS availability is determined by three factors: country-level RCS rollout status, carrier support within that country, and whether the user's device and messaging app are RCS-capable.

Coverage varies significantly by market:

For coverage details in your specific target markets — including which carriers have launched RCS and what percentage of users are RCS-enabled — contact EnableX support. Coverage data changes as carriers continue their RCS rollouts.

Setup Checklist

Use this checklist to track your progress before going live with RCS:

What's Next

Once your RBM Agent is verified and launched, you are ready to start sending production RCS messages. The following pages cover the API details and advanced configuration: