Insights
Unlocking value with RCS for Business: Insights from Sinch, Google, and WeCredit
Insights
For more than two decades, SMS has been central to business messaging because it’s reliable, universal, and familiar. But as consumer expectations evolve, so do the tools brands need to engage them with. And that’s where Rich Communication Services (RCS) comes in, blending the broad reach of SMS with app-like features that drive deeper engagement and trust.
With Apple’s recent commitment to support RCS on iOS accelerating RCS adoption worldwide, now businesses have a unique opportunity to rethink how they connect with customers.
Earlier this month, we joined customers, carriers, and industry leaders at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona where we had the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate what RCS could do for all types of businesses. And at the The Future of Mobile 2025 event during MWC, industry leaders from Sinch, Google, and WeCredit took the stage to discuss why businesses should be paying attention to RCS as a business messaging solution.
One of the first questions that always come up when discussing RCS is how it differs from other messaging channels. So, during the panel, Miriam Lisczewski, Global Commercial Product Manager for RCS at Sinch, kicked off the discussion by providing an overview of RCS as a business messaging channel, highlighting its potential over traditional SMS.
“Unlike traditional SMS, RCS supports branded messages, verified senders, interactive buttons, and rich media, which creates a more engaging experience for consumers.”
The perspective of increased engagement is certainly one of the appeals of RCS, and businesses are starting to take note. The growth of RCS was a hot topic at MWC, and Josh Pepper, Head of Product for RCS for Business at Google, backed this up by sharing some impressive growth numbers of RCS as a business messaging channel:
At Sinch, we’ve also witnessed the impressive growth of the channel firsthand. In fact, by mid-November 2024, we had already delivered over one billion RCS for Business messages worldwide – and that’s before Black Friday and the holiday season hit.
More and more businesses across all industries have started to explore RCS’s capabilities. And some of them, like WeCredit, are already seeing impressive results.
WeCredit is a fintech platform in India, where Whatsapp and SMS have a huge penetration. Their platform allows customers to find the best online finance solution for their needs. Laksh Dua, co-founder of WeCredit, joined the panel to provide first-hand perspective on how using RCS for Business, the fintech platform has successfully scaled their digital communications strategy to reach millions of users in India.
“In the last two months, we’ve scaled volumes to 20 million RCS messages. It’s completely transformed our in-funnel customer journey.”
WeCredit uses RCS for a range of business-critical use cases:
Before adopting RCS, WeCredit relied heavily on SMS and WhatsApp for customer communication. While SMS was cost-effective, it lacked engagement and tracking capabilities. WhatsApp, on the other hand, was visually appealing and encouraged interactivity, but it lacked the kind of analytics they were looking for – and required their users to use a separate app altogether.
“RCS sits in the perfect middle ground between SMS and WhatsApp. It has the visual appeal of WhatsApp with the cost-effectiveness of SMS, plus great tracking and analytics.”
Today, WeCredit has seen about 35-40% of its target users having RCS-enabled devices in the Indian market. While this is a significant reach, it’s not yet enough to connect with their entire audience, so their messaging strategy includes a mix of both RCS and WhatsApp to ensure maximum reach.
In some markets where Apple has launched RCS support, user adoption is already exceeding 70%, and this number is expected to grow. But for now, businesses can and should take a hybrid approach using RCS and other messaging channels to ensure they’re engaging their audiences on the channels they’re already using.
Inroducing a new channel often requires careful consideration, but success stories like WeCredit is a good example of the opportunity RCS brings to businesses looking to connect with their customers on their mobile devices.
Liszewski highlighted how WeCredit’s journey reflects what many companies experience when implementing RCS: a gradual evolution from basic messaging to more advanced, high-impact use cases.
“One of the cool things about RCS is that you can do so much with it. A lot of businesses start with fairly simple messages, by converting their existing SMS over. That works well for improving security with the sender verifications, the branding, and the delivery receipts. And once you start seeing it working, you start to move on to more advanced use cases.”
For businesses considering RCS, the value is clear:
As RCS adoption grows, so does the need for strong fraud prevention measures. This is something that’s top of mind for businesses and is often a hot topic, as seen during the Q&A portion of the panel. Panel moderator Steinbach shifted the conversation to security, asking Pepper what practices Google has in place for consumer protection.
“One phrase I use with my team is: ‘Reach is life, spam is death,” Pepper said. “It really succinctly sums up what we need in a messaging solution because you need to reach everybody, and you can’t miss them.”
According to Pepper, Google works closely with mobile operators and the GSMA to verify businesses and monitor for abuse. Their approach to spam protection is based on the “ABC model,” which stands for “Actor, Behavior, Content,” so they’re always identifying and mitigating risks before they become widespread.
He also highlighted Google’s investment in spam detection, using learnings from the teams that built Gmail’s spam protections to safeguard RCS messaging.
Looking ahead, both Google and WeCredit see RCS evolving beyond its current capabilities – and at Sinch, we do too!
When talking about WeCredit’s use of RCS, Dua outlined his company’s next steps, which can serve as good inspiration for businesses looking to adopt the channel:
What’s on Google’s RCS to do list? Pepper explained that Google is focused on expanding RCS’s reach and functionality.
“We’re rolling out support for Dual SIM services, which is massive in markets like India,” he said. “WebView capabilities are also expanding, which will allow businesses to leverage their existing mobile assets while ensuring customers seamlessly return to the conversation after closing the browser.”
And, of course, driving adoption by mobile operators across the world is key to making RCS work.
“As we roll out RCS throughout the world, we do so by forming partnerships with carriers, and we have to do that in a sequenced and methodical way.”
While adoption varies by region, Sinch, Google, and WeCredit’s discussion at MEF 2025 made one thing clear: RCS is making a big impact on business results, and it will just keep growing.
For enterprises evaluating their messaging strategies, RCS represents a compelling opportunity to leverage rich features, security, and analytics in one high-impact channel.
Ready to explore RCS? Check out these resources to learn more about the benefits it can bring your business and customers:
Or, if you’re ready to get started with RCS, reach out to our team. We’re ready to help you build a great messaging experience your customers will love!
