RCS messaging for nonprofits.

Yes. Nonprofits can register RCS agents, and most Mobile Commons nonprofit customers qualify. The content decides eligibility, not the tax status. Transactional programs, meaning donation receipts, benefits notifications, case status and membership renewals, and non-electoral issue advocacy are the cleanest paths.

Two categories need extra care. Donation appeals carry hard requirements: 501(c)(3) status, no political bias on the registration website, accreditation by Charity Navigator or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at three of four stars or 75% or better, a working accreditation URL, and an established RCS sending history. Healthcare-adjacent content is restricted and gets additional scrutiny.

If you are new to RCS, start with a transactional agent. It builds the sending history that a donation appeal separately requires.

Plan for weeks, not days. An agent goes through both Google's verification and each carrier's compliance review before it can launch. The carrier review closely mirrors US short code approval, including third-party vetting of the agent's program details, and Google runs its own separate review and certification.

Timelines stretch when brand assets, policy URLs or the registration form come back incomplete, which is why we assemble the registration workbook and spec-compliant assets before submission rather than during.

Placeholder: insert Mobile Commons’ own observed median here. Not published until measured.

Yes. Apple added person-to-person RCS in iOS 18 in September 2024, and RCS for Business began rolling out with iOS 18.1 in October 2024 on select carriers, with messages appearing in green bubbles rather than blue. All three major US carriers now support RCS for Business on both iPhone and Android, so a single approved agent reaches both platforms.

One presentation quirk is worth knowing. iOS renders the words Promotional or Transactional literally in the agent description on the phone, but renders Verified for Multi-Use agents, which is why we prefer Multi-Use where the use case allows it.

The message falls back to SMS automatically. When RCS is unavailable or disabled on the recipient's device, delivery routes over SMS instead, so no subscriber is dropped from a send.

Practically, an RCS program is an upgrade layered onto an existing SMS program, not a replacement for it. Write copy that still works without rich cards or carousels.

Yes, per message. RCS is priced above standard SMS, with rates varying by carrier and by message type, basic against rich media.

The comparison that matters is cost per outcome rather than cost per message. Branded, verified messages with a call to action inside the thread typically convert better than a plain text with a link, which can offset the higher unit price. Ask your customer success manager for current rate cards, because carrier pricing on this channel is still moving.

Not a separate one, in most cases. Existing SMS consent generally carries over, because the same carrier compliance requirements apply to RCS business messaging as to US short codes, including opt-in and opt-out consent requirements.

What does change is scope. Your opt-in language and disclosures must match the content the registered agent actually sends. An agent scoped to donation receipts cannot be used to send fundraising appeals under the old consent. Review the opt-in text alongside the agent's use case before launch.

No. Political content is prohibited under Google's Acceptable Use Policy. That covers anything promoting or undermining a candidate or party, discussing election integrity, polling political opinion, predicting electoral outcomes, or driving toward an election-day action. Get-out-the-vote and voter registration programs are prohibited outright, regardless of the sending organization's 501(c)(3) status.

Issue advocacy with no candidate, party or electoral framing is a different case. It is flagged for review rather than blocked, and often clears. If your organization runs both kinds of program, raise it with your customer success manager early so the agent is scoped correctly from the start.