Message templates (India only)

When you send messages to your customers in India, you must use the RCS message templates. This feature is designed to prevent the abuse of anti-spam policies where users are flooded with promotional RCS messages, but enables you to continue using RCS to send messages to your customers.

When using RCS in India, you cannot use RCS directly via Google. You must direct traffic through a single gateway carrier (Vodafone India) when using RCS.

The following restrictions are also in place for the use of RCS in India:

• Promotional traffic is limited to 4 per month
• A2P traffic must use a registered template rather than a free-form message

Registered templates

You can only use registered templates to send RCS messages. To use a registered template, you need to obtain the VIL template identifier.

Contact your account management team to register new templates and obtain the template identifier (ID). You will need to manually enter this ID, along with any parameter fields.

Send RCS message templates over API

To send RCS (Rich Communication Services) messages using the API, you will utilize a single endpoint capable of handling both single and bulk message transmissions through templates. You must provide the following details to ensure the correct formatting and dispatch of messages:

Content type:

• Value: INDIA_TEMPLATES
• This is a fixed value that specifies the type of content being sent.

Template ID:

• Description: A unique identifier for the message template.
• Source: Provided by your account management team or visible within the Broadcast section of the portal. Ensure that is correctly obtained to avoid any dispatch issues.

Parameters (Optional):

• Purpose: To personalize the messaging content.
• Structure:
  • name: The name of the parameter.
  • value: The value corresponding to the parameter name.

You can use optional parameters to personalize messages for each recipient. By adhering to these guidelines, you can efficiently send single and bulk RCS messages tailored to your specific requirements.

For more information about sending RCS over API, see here (opens in a new tab).

Send RCS message templates over Broadcast

To send RCS messages using the message templates:

1. Log in to Infobip and navigate to Moments > Broadcasts > Create Broadcast.

   

2. Set your channel to RCS and type or select Recipients names. You can also upload recipients from a file or add them from People by selecting the Add recipients button.

3. Select the RCS Sender from the dropdown menu.

4. Select one of the registered VIL templates. You cannot edit the message directly.

Send RCS message templates over Flow

To send RCS message templates using Flow, follow these steps:

1. Log in (opens in a new tab) to Infobip and navigate to Flow. Go to Moments > Flows > Create flow.

2. Select Start from scratch or an existing predefined template and set up your initial flow design.

3. Add the RCS message element by selecting Send RCS message.

   

4. Create or select a predefined message:

   • Select New message.
   • If you have a pre-created message, select it under Choose an existing message and skip to Step 8.
   

5. Enter the message name, choose your sender, and click Select to create content.

   

6. Select Template as the content type. Choose the one you wish to use from the list of available templates and customize your message. If the template includes custom parameters, fill them in to personalize the message. Review your message and when you are done, select Done designing.

   

7. If needed, enable tracking options and click Activate to finalize the message setup.

   

8. Return to the flow and ensure the selected message is validated. Once everything is set, launch the flow.

This process allows you to efficiently send personalized RCS message templates as part of your automated customer communication flows, leveraging rich media and interactivity capabilities of RCS.

Additional options

Failover to SMS

Enabling the Failover to SMS option is recommended to ensure messages reach recipients even if the RCS channel fails, enhancing reliability and user engagement.

Message scheduling

Schedule the communications start and delivery time window for your campaign.

Tracking and reporting

Monitor customer activities and generate reports to gain deeper insights into your customers. You can enable delivery reports over API pull or push delivery reports to webhook.

Advanced settings

Limit the number of messages sent out over time and set the period during which the platform will try to deliver the message.