Drawing insights from the MEF’s comprehensive Basic RCS positioning paper (April 2025), it’s clear that the move towards an RCS first strategy, particularly its foundational “Basic” form, is not just a trend, but a strategic imperative for businesses.

What Exactly is “Basic RCS”?

You might be familiar with the highly interactive features of full RCS Business Messaging (RBM), like carousels and suggested actions, which position it as a premium service. However, the industry, with support from Google, has also seen the deployment of “Basic RCS” since late 2022. Orange Spain notably pioneered this approach.

The message from the MEF and industry leaders is clear: Basic RCS offers a compelling, low-friction pathway to more secure, engaging, and effective customer communication. It’s an evolution of SMS that addresses its shortcomings while paving the way for even richer interactions.”

So, what sets Basic RCS apart? It’s essentially a text-only message, much like an SMS (up to 160 UTF-8 characters), but sent over the RCS channel. The crucial difference lies in how it appears to the end-user:

• Branded Sender: Instead of a simple sender ID or number, messages come from an RBM agent/bot that displays the brand’s logo and name.
• Verified Trust: A verification symbol confirms that the sender is genuinely the brand they claim to be, significantly reducing the risk of spoofing.
• Enhanced Links: If a URL is included, Google’s Messages client (by default) renders a visual preview of the web link, making it more engaging.
• Read Receipts: Unlike standard A2P SMS, Basic RCS provides read receipts, offering valuable insights into message engagement.

Crucially, in many markets, Basic RCS is priced similarly to SMS, encouraging a seamless migration of traffic to this more feature-rich and secure channel.

The Growing Wave: Adoption and Market Momentum

The shift towards an RCS first strategy is undeniable. While SMS faces challenges like AIT (Artificially Inflated Traffic), rising prices, and fraud, which are eroding confidence in the channel, RCS (including its “Basic” form) is gaining momentum. The MEF paper highlights that analysts predict a significant leap in the adoption of RCS and other rich channels like WhatsApp.

Operators are increasingly deploying Basic RCS, recognizing its potential to offer businesses a streamlined way to benefit from verified RCS delivery without significant financial friction. This is seen not as a revolution, but an evolution of SMS, leveraging the existing trust and ubiquity of the native messaging inbox.

Why Basic RCS Makes Perfect Sense for Your Brand

MEF’s positioning paper outlines compelling reasons for brands to adopt Basic RCS:

1. Boosted Brand Recognition & Trust: Even in its “basic” text-only form, RCS messages arrive with your brand logo and a verification tick. This immediately enhances brand visibility and assures customers that the message is legitimate, fostering trust – a critical factor as SMS fraud continues to be a concern.
2. Improved Customer Insights: The availability of read receipts with Basic RCS gives brands a clearer understanding of message engagement, something not typically available with A2P SMS. This allows for more effective customer targeting and a better understanding of channel preferences.
3. Low Barrier to Entry & Cost-Effectiveness: With many carriers pricing Basic RCS comparable to SMS, brands can experience the benefits of this enhanced channel with minimal impact on their budgets. The setup is also straightforward, especially if aggregators offer an auto-upgrade for existing SMS traffic.
4. A Stepping Stone to Richer Engagement: Basic RCS serves as an excellent entry point for brands into the world of RCS. Once onboard, businesses can explore richer RCS features (like rich cards, carousels, and suggested replies) to drive even higher engagement and ROI. Case studies, like the one from Orange Spain, anticipate a growing percentage of messages becoming richer over time after the initial launch of Basic RCS.
5. Enhanced Security and Fraud Reduction: The inherent verification process in RBM is a powerful tool against SMS spoofing and phishing. By ensuring only authorized and verified entities can send messages, RCS helps protect both consumers and brand reputation. The MEF paper estimates that Basic RCS could prevent fraud costing hundreds of millions of dollars.
6. Better Conversion Rates: Even simple enhancements like brand verification and logo presence can lead to improved performance. A case study with C6 Bank in Brazil showed a 33% increase in click-through rates and a 32% better conversion rate for Basic RCS messages compared to traditional SMS in a loan eligibility campaign.

Getting Started with Basic RCS

For brands, the transition to an RCS first strategy can be remarkably simple. Existing SMS opt-ins generally cover Basic RCS messaging, and the core message content can remain the same as current SMS campaigns. Brands typically need to provide their logo, links to T&Cs and privacy policies, customer support details, and authorize their aggregator partner.

The message from the MEF and industry leaders is clear: Basic RCS offers a compelling, low-friction pathway to more secure, engaging, and effective customer communication. It’s an evolution of SMS that addresses its shortcomings while paving the way for even richer interactions.

Isn’t it time your brand made the basic switch for brilliant results?

To learn more about the nuances and strategic advantages of Basic RCS, the MEF’s Basic RCS positioning paper (April 2025) offers a wealth of detailed information and industry consensus.