Rich Communication Services (RCS) is revolutionizing how businesses communicate via text messaging. With features such as high-quality media sharing, interactive group chats, and branded messaging, RCS represents the future of digital communication. However, its global availability is still limited to specific markets. Countries like Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Canada, India, Italy, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, South Africa, and Belgium enjoy full or partial RCS coverage.
According to a 2024 MEF study, India, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, and France have experienced the fastest growth in RCS commercial messaging adoption. These markets reported an average 4% increase in smartphone users receiving RCS business messages, with India leading at 7%, South Africa, Mexico, and Spain at 3%, and France at 2%. On average, 15% of smartphone users in these regions now interact with brands via RCS messages, with India achieving an impressive 27%, surpassing South Africa’s 13%.
Asia-Pacific shows strong adoption, driven by high mobile penetration and tech-savvy populations. In North America and Europe, proactive telecom provider promotion has fueled growth. Meanwhile, SMS still dominates in Africa and Latin America due to lower internet penetration, although RCS adoption continues to rise steadily.
Apple’s announcement to support RCS in iOS 18, launched in September 2024, marks a significant milestone. This integration enables seamless cross-platform messaging compatibility, allowing high-quality media sharing, smoother group chats, and a greatly improved user experience for Android and iOS users.
RCS with accelerator creation
According to Juniper Research, RCS business messaging traffic is forecasted to grow from 33 billion messages in 2024 to 50 billion in 2025, reflecting a 50% year-over-year increase aligned with Apple’s first full year of RCS support. Telecom operators are expected to partner with RCS Business Messaging (RBM) providers to build robust ecosystems sustaining large-scale growth. RBM traffic is projected to reach 200 billion messages by 2029.
Grand View Research reports that the global RCS services market was valued at $2.68 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3% from 2024 to 2030. Meanwhile, Omdia predicts A2P (Application-to-Person) and P2P (Person-to-Person) RCS traffic will rise from nearly 150 billion messages in 2024 to over 450 billion by 2029, generating $4.2 billion in A2P revenue.
North America led the RCS market in 2023, accounting for 35% of total revenue. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific—driven largely by India's central role in regional development—is poised for the fastest growth. Europe showcased dynamic use cases across industries like healthcare, hospitality, and aviation. In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil are at the forefront of RBM adoption, with traffic in these markets expected to grow to 2.3 billion and 1.3 billion messages by 2029.
RCS offers numerous advantages for businesses and marketers, including high-quality media sharing to enhance engagement, interactive features with call-to-action buttons for two-way communication, branded messaging with verified sender profiles, and native integration that eliminates app downloads. However, RCS requires a mobile data connection, making SMS a fallback option in some cases.
At Plusmo, we provide innovative RCS messaging solutions tailored to meet businesses' specific communication needs. By leveraging RCS technology, companies can design personalized, interactive, and visually rich messaging campaigns that enhance customer engagement and deliver results. Investing in the future of messaging with RCS unlocks the full potential of rich business communication today.
