What Is RCS Sender Verification and How Does It Work?

Consumers are getting hundreds of messages on a weekly basis from firms they are unfamiliar with. While some messages might be legitimate, the rest are likely spam. But since there is virtually no way to differentiate fraudulent messages from authentic ones, consumers now regard all messages from unfamiliar senders with similar suspicion – even those from brands that they had previously purchased from. This distrust is not irrational. There is absolutely nothing about SMS technology to verify a person’s identity.

RCS sender verification takes care of that through the technical impossibility of impersonation. This is precisely how it works and what it means for any company using RCS to communicate with its customers.

What an RCS Brand Agent Is

Before sending out even a single RCS message , it becomes crucial for a business to build and verify its RCS Brand Agent. The RCS Brand Agent forms the business verification within the RCS network. It includes the name, logo, colors, and all business information. This information is presented to the customer natively within their default messaging application.

An RCS Brand Agent is made up of several visible elements:

• Brand logo: Squared, min 224x224px, will be placed on top of all threads
• Name verification: The name of the business is verified through a shield/checkmark indicating its legitimacy
• Brand banner: A supplementary image in horizontal format that will be featured on the profile
• Description: Short information about the product/service offered by the company
• Contact information: Phone number, email, and link to website
• Universal Profile: Extended business card accessible through clicking on the brand logo in the thread

Each of these components is clear to see before the user opens the communication. The trust signal is established right at the notification level, not after the user has already made up their mind about opening it.

How RCS Sender Verification Works Step by Step

The RCS verification process is quite organized, with the Verification Authority, an approved messaging services provider, acting as the entity that is registered by mobile network operators on behalf of enterprises.

Step 1: Choose a Verification Authority

A Verification Authority verifies that the business name, logo, and domain entered really belong to the registering firm. Businesses are not allowed to register with Google or mobile operators directly, bypassing this level.

Step 2: Prepare Brand Assets and Documents

Before submission, businesses must prepare:

• Logo of the brand in square shape, PNG or SVG format, with suitable margins
• Name of the business as it needs to be displayed in the message thread
• Color code of the brand in HEX value with a minimum contrast of 4.5:1 against white
• URL of privacy policy stating how personal information, including contact details, is processed by the business
• Registration or tax identification number of the business
• Company domain registered with evidence
• Description of use case highlighting the type of message to be sent

Documentation is the most important determinant of the speed at which this process is completed. The lack of sufficient documentation is the most frequent cause of delay.

Step 3: Submit the Brand Agent Profile

The Verification Authority will provide the brand profile via the Google Business Communication Developer Console. In the submission process, there is a requirement to provide use cases, message samples, campaign types, region, and billing model.

Step 4: Google and Carrier Approval

There are two approval processes for verification. Google-managed launches are where the approval process is done by Google itself, and they distribute the verified profile to the different Google-managed carriers. It normally takes between four and six weeks after a complete submission. Carrier-managed launches occur in the United States and require that each carrier approve the profile.

Step 5: Test Phase and Go Live

Upon approval, the brand conducts testing on the Agent using the devices that have been authorized by the brand to ensure that the logo, the name, interactive functionalities, and the SMS function operate successfully in case the recipient's device does not support RCS . When satisfied, the brand agent becomes active.

Why Verification Cannot Be Bypassed or Spoofed

The SMS sender ID can be anything chosen by anybody. The "name" attribute in an SMS is completely unverified. That's why smishing works, where banks, courier services, and government agencies are fooled just by entering a recognizable name in the sender field.

RCS takes care of the entire security threat. The verified identity that appears on each RCS message has been verified by Google and by the mobile networks. An organization's name, logo, and verification badge that appear in an RCS conversation can never be forged by a scammer because the verification process is done at the infrastructure level, not the message level.

Studies have found that around 80% of customers become more comfortable dealing with a communication when they see proof of an authentic sender identity in their conversation history. This comfort level translates into increased open rates, click-through rates, and conversions in RCS campaigns.

RCS Verified Sender vs SMS Sender ID

The difference between RCS and SMS at the sender identity level is fundamental, not incremental

How to Stay Ahead

In a message environment where fraud has compromised every communication channel without identity verification, the ability to prove the legitimacy of the sender within the RCS channel is precisely what imbues the business communication with the authority that makes it actionable. The name verification, the logo confirmation, and even the shield icon within the notification all these come from the fact that RCS technology forces the identity of the sender to be proven.

At RCS Brand Rise, we assist companies in India in creating verified sender profiles for their brands through RCS. We take care of all aspects of this process, from registering the Brand Agent to the creation of logos and banners to even documentation submission. We also ensure that the Verification Authority is managed well and that use cases are approved, with SMS fallback configurations sorted out too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does every business need to complete RCS sender verification before sending messages?

Yes. Each organization needs to establish and validate its RCS Brand Agent using a trusted Verification Authority. This is an essential step prior to the sending of an RCS message. There are no exceptions, and there is no shortcut.

Q: How long does RCS sender verification take?

The duration for a Google-managed launch is between four and six weeks. For carrier-managed launches in certain countries, it could be up to eight to sixteen weeks. Complete documentation in one attempt will result in the best turnaround time.

Q: Can a fraudster create a fake RCS Brand Agent impersonating a real business?

No. The verification ensures that the business name, logo, and domain used for the application are associated with the applying organization. The identity shown in all RCS messages is authorized by Google, and impersonation by carriers is not possible.

Q: Does an RCS Brand Agent need to be registered separately for each carrier?

Google will distribute the approved profile to all carriers managed by Google through the Google-managed process. In the case of the carrier-managed approach, each carrier needs to do its own review. That's why the Google-managed method is much faster.

Q: What happens if a customer's phone does not support RCS?

The system will default to SMS and send the message via SMS as a standard text, which will lack rich media content. The system will use the registered SMS sender ID for this fallback mode.