RCS Business Messaging (RBM) lets brands send rich, interactive messages over the operator's native messaging app using the GSMA Universal Profile. Business agents connect to a MaaP (Messaging-as-a-Platform) function rather than binding over SMPP, discover per-device capability, exchange mobile-originated and mobile-terminated messages, and are billed per conversation or message event.
What RCS and the Universal Profile are
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the GSMA's IP-based successor to SMS/MMS, delivered inside the operator's default messaging client. To stop fragmentation between operator implementations, the GSMA published the RCS Universal Profile — a single agreed feature set (chat, group chat, read receipts, is-typing, high-resolution media, file transfer) specified in RCC.07. Universal Profile 2.x is the baseline most deployments target. RCS runs over IP to the device but is anchored in the operator's IMS/messaging core, so it inherits carrier-grade addressing (the MSISDN is still the identity) while adding the rich, session-style experience SMS never had.
MaaP: Messaging as a Platform
Business messaging on RCS is defined by the GSMA MaaP specification (RCC.71). MaaP introduces a platform function inside the operator network that hosts business agents (also called chatbots) and mediates between them and subscribers. A brand does not open a raw protocol session to each subscriber; it registers an agent with a MaaP provider, and the MaaP function handles device reachability, capability, fan-out and billing. This is the structural difference from SMS: SMPP exposes a low-level binary bind to a message centre, while MaaP exposes an agent hosted on a platform that speaks to many subscribers on the brand's behalf.
| Element | Spec | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Profile | GSMA RCC.07 | Agreed RCS feature set (chat, media, receipts, typing) |
| MaaP | GSMA RCC.71 | Platform that hosts business agents and reaches subscribers |
| Business agent / chatbot | RCC.71 | The brand identity subscribers converse with |
| RBM API | Google RCS Business Messaging | REST agent API used to send/receive and query capability |
| Verified agent | GSMA / MaaP | Brand name, logo, colour and verified badge |
The RBM agent API vs an SMPP bind
Where an A2P SMS sender opens a persistent binary SMPP session and issues submit_sm PDUs, an RCS business sender calls a REST agent API. In Google's RCS Business Messaging, the agent authenticates with a service account and posts a message to an agentMessage endpoint addressed to a subscriber's MSISDN; inbound messages and delivery/read events arrive as webhook callbacks. There is no persistent transmit/receive bind and no PDU encoding — the payload is JSON describing text, media or a rich card. The trade-off is richer content and structured interactivity in exchange for a higher-level, per-agent integration rather than a raw message-centre pipe.
POST https://rcsbusinessmessaging.googleapis.com/v1/phones/+15551234567/agentMessages
{
"contentMessage": {
"text": "Your order #4021 has shipped.",
"suggestions": [
{ "reply": { "text": "Track", "postbackData": "track_4021" } },
{ "reply": { "text": "Help", "postbackData": "support" } }
]
}
}Capability discovery: not every device speaks RCS
RCS reach is per-device, not per-number: the same MSISDN may be RCS-capable on one handset and fall back to SMS on another. Before sending rich content a business agent performs a capability check — in RBM a GET on the subscriber's capabilities returns whether the device is reachable over RCS and which features (rich cards, carousels, file transfer, suggested actions) it supports. A well-behaved sender uses this both to decide whether to send RCS at all and to tailor the message to the features available, cascading to SMS or MMS when the device is not RCS-reachable. Capability discovery is therefore the first step of any RCS send and the hook that omnichannel fallback keys on.
GET https://rcsbusinessmessaging.googleapis.com/v1/phones/+15551234567/capabilities?requestId=8f2c...
200 OK
{ "features": [ "RICHCARD_STANDALONE", "RICHCARD_CAROUSEL", "ACTION_DIAL", "ACTION_URL" ] }
404 -> device not RCS-reachable now; fall back to SMS/MMSMO / MT, conversations and verified agents
RCS business traffic is bidirectional. Mobile-terminated (MT) messages flow from the agent to the subscriber; mobile-originated (MO) messages — the subscriber's replies, button taps and shared media — flow back as webhook events carrying the postback data the agent attached to each suggestion. Because the exchange is conversational, a verified agent presents a trusted identity: the brand name, logo, brand colour and a verified badge shown by the client, provisioned through the operator/aggregator and the MaaP platform after brand verification. That verified identity is what distinguishes a legitimate RCS brand from a spoofed sender and underpins the branded-sender controls covered separately.
Billing events and traffic classes
RCS business billing is event-based rather than per-segment like SMS. Depending on the operator and MaaP commercial model, charging is applied per message or per conversation (a session window of related messages), and often split into traffic classes — for example single-message A2P notifications versus interactive conversational sessions, sometimes with an A2P and a P2A (person-to-application, subscriber-initiated) distinction. Rich media, carousels and file transfer travel within the same conversation and do not incur SMS-style segmentation. Because pricing, availability and feature support vary by operator, a business platform reconciles capability, reach and commercial terms per market before committing traffic to RCS.
Frequently asked
What is RCS Business Messaging?
RCS Business Messaging (RBM) is the business channel of GSMA RCS: brands send rich, interactive, verified messages that appear in the subscriber's native messaging app. It uses the Universal Profile feature set, is delivered through a MaaP platform, and supports text, media, rich cards, carousels and suggested replies and actions.
What is MaaP?
MaaP (Messaging as a Platform, GSMA RCC.71) is the network function that hosts RCS business agents and mediates between them and subscribers. Instead of binding to a message centre over SMPP, a brand registers an agent with a MaaP provider, which handles device reachability, capability, message fan-out and billing.
How is the RBM API different from SMPP?
SMPP is a persistent binary session with submit_sm PDUs to a message centre. RBM is a REST agent API: the agent posts JSON messages to a subscriber's MSISDN and receives replies and delivery/read events as webhooks. There is no persistent bind or PDU encoding, and the payload can carry rich cards and interactive elements SMS cannot.
How do I know whether a number can receive RCS?
RCS reachability is per-device, so you run a capability check before sending. In RBM a GET on the subscriber's capabilities returns whether the device is RCS-reachable and which features it supports; a not-found result means the device is not reachable over RCS now and the sender should fall back to SMS or MMS.
What is a verified RCS agent?
A verified agent is a business identity provisioned through the operator and MaaP platform after brand verification. It presents the brand name, logo, brand colour and a verified badge in the messaging client, so subscribers can trust the sender. It is the RCS equivalent of a registered, verified sender identity.
How is RCS business messaging billed?
Unlike SMS, which bills per 160/70-character segment, RCS business messaging is billed per message or per conversation session, often split into traffic classes such as single-message notifications versus interactive conversations. Rich media and carousels travel within the conversation and are not segmented. Exact pricing and availability vary by operator and MaaP model.
Source specifications
The published standards this page is grounded in. Opens in a new tab.