Everything worth knowing, nothing that isn't.
What's verified about the sender
RBM senders go through Google's (or, for non-Google RBM hubs, the regional GSMA-approved hub's) brand verification — business name, logo, website, official phone number. Verified senders display a blue checkmark and a logo in the conversation thread, similar to a verified WhatsApp Business account. This is the single biggest reason buyers move marketing campaigns from SMS to RBM: brand recognition and anti-spoofing.
What it can actually do
Up to 8,000 characters of rich text per message. Rich cards with title, image, description, and up to four suggested actions. Carousels of up to 10 cards. Suggested replies and suggested actions that resolve into deep-links, dial-actions, or location requests. Read receipts (the brand sees when the user opened the message — controversial; not all markets allow it). Typing indicators and group chat — these are mostly used for customer-care RBM patterns.
Pricing model
RBM is billed per conversation, not per message. A conversation is a 24-hour session. Pricing varies by region: US/EU around $0.025 per conversation, MENA $0.015-$0.040. Compare to SMS at $0.005-$0.040 per message — RBM is competitive once you send more than ~3 SMS-worth of content per session.
Where RBM is and isn't
Live in 60+ countries via Google's RBM platform; live in additional markets via regional RCS hubs (Vodafone, Comviva, Mavenir). MENA: live in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar; pilot in Egypt and Kuwait. iOS support since iOS 18 covers all iPhone users on supported carriers — in MENA it rolled out carrier-by-carrier through 2025. BroadNet supports RBM end-to-end for live markets; see /products/rcs-messaging.