# RCS (rich communication services)

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the messaging standard that upgrades SMS in a phone's default messaging app, with high-resolution media, read receipts and typing indicators. For businesses, RCS Business Messaging adds verified senders, rich cards and suggested replies.

Source: https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/rich-communication-services  
Last updated: 2026-10-12

RCS lives in the default messaging app of the phone: there is nothing to install. Apple describes RCS on iPhone as a way to send texts, high-resolution photos and videos with delivery and read receipts and typing indicators when iMessage is not used.

The comparison with WhatsApp is about reach and consistency. RCS availability depends on the device, the carrier and the country, while WhatsApp behaves the same wherever the app is installed. Which one a brand uses mostly depends on which app its customers open every day in each market.

Many brands treat the two as complementary channels. The playbooks are similar (opt-in, approved formats, measured frequency), so the skills transfer. The [RCS business messaging guide](https://getkanal.com/blog/rcs-business-messaging) explains how access works, and these [RCS messaging examples](https://getkanal.com/blog/rcs-messaging-examples-ecommerce) show eight messages an online store can send, from a product carousel to a cart reminder.

Kanal sends WhatsApp messages, and SMS and RCS campaigns from the same app: see [RCS marketing for Shopify](https://getkanal.com/rcs) and [WhatsApp campaigns](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-campaigns).

## Kanal features

- [RCS marketing](https://getkanal.com/rcs): RCS marketing for your Shopify store: the rich SMS
- [WhatsApp campaigns](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-campaigns): Send marketing campaigns that actually get read

## Go deeper: articles

- [RCS business messaging: what it is and how to get verified](https://getkanal.com/blog/rcs-business-messaging): RCS business messaging from Google's own docs: verified name and logo, rich cards, how a brand gets access, billing, iPhone support and store use cases.
- [RCS messaging examples: 8 RCS marketing messages for online stores](https://getkanal.com/blog/rcs-messaging-examples-ecommerce): Eight RCS messaging examples for US online stores, from rich card carousels to cart reminders and shipping updates, with the format, buttons and Google use case each one falls under.
- [RCS vs SMS: differences, iPhone support and cost per text](https://getkanal.com/blog/rcs-vs-sms): RCS vs SMS from Apple's, Google's and Twilio's own pages: content, branding, iPhone reach, fallback, US price per message and which one a store should send.
- [Is WhatsApp SMS or MMS? SMS vs MMS vs RCS vs WhatsApp](https://getkanal.com/blog/sms-vs-mms-vs-rcs-vs-whatsapp): WhatsApp is neither SMS nor MMS: it is an app that sends messages over the internet. How SMS, MMS, RCS and WhatsApp differ, in one table, for 2026.

## Related terms

- [WhatsApp Business Platform](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/whatsapp-business-platform)