Business Profile Creation Flow (Trust Center)

On the Phone Numbers Page, we have the Trust Center. This will be visible to Account admins. Accounts with the US as the country will see this. Trust Center provides products that can improve customer engagement through brand recognition.

Carriers are becoming increasingly sensitive to spam and AUP enforcement when it comes to SMS and Calls. To keep spamming in check and to protect the end customer, they have created various regulations & compliance frameworks.

This is sometimes required to utilize SMS and Power Dialer features in the system. However, when successfully verified, the likelihood of your business number being marked as “potential spam” when making outbound calls or your SMS messages not making it past the phone carrier (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) spam filters is greatly reduced.

The review process can be very detailed, and even seemingly small deviations can cause the review to fail.

Opt-In Guidelines

When preparing your campaigns, it's crucial to follow Opt-In Guidelines to ensure compliance and engagement with your audience. Opt-ins play a pivotal role in establishing customer consent and maintaining transparency. Following these guidelines will improve your campaign's chances of success.

Enhanced Brand Registration Overview

Starting from August 2023, the registration process for an enhanced version of the standard brand offering is available, designed to comply with new industry guidelines for registered messaging services. This registration is particularly suited for customers who require a higher daily sending limit, which is approved by industry regulatory bodies.

Who is Eligible?

Eligibility for standard brand registration is limited to businesses that meet specific criteria:

• Tax Identification: Businesses must have a valid Tax ID (EIN for US-based businesses).
• Valid Business Information: Registration requires accurate business details, including the business name, contact information, and physical address.

Registration Requirements

Businesses wishing to register must:

Navigate to Account Settings ➡Phone Numbers ➡Trust Center.

Click on Start Registration on the card "A2P Brand and Campaign Registration (SMS)".

You will need to answer the following two questions accurately to ensure you are directed to the appropriate brand option.

Business Profile Registration: 

Account admins will be able to register account businesses with the carriers so that they can use other Trust Products.

Pre-requisites: Gather the required information for Business Registration

To access the available Trust Center products, the first step would be to "fill in all the required fields in the Business Profile section.

Navigate to Settings > Business Profile to accomplish this.

Please Note: If you have a US entity or an International Tax ID, use EIN to register your business profile and to avoid brand registration failures. Do not use a DUNS number.

Step 1: Create a Business Profile in the Trust Center

Navigate to Settings > Phone Numbers > Trust Center > Click on Start Registering Now

Within the Trust Hub, create your Business Profile. This step validates your customer's business identity. You will only need to do this once.

Please fill in the following information:

• The Legal Business Name, the Business type, ID, industry, website URL, and region information

 Enter the business name EXACTLY as it is shown on the CP 575. Every line above the address on the CP 575 should be entered as the business name.

• Business Address - Enter the business address that is shown on the CP 575.

• Under Authorized Representative: The Point of Contact details for the Business

Step 2 - Brand details

Choose the standard brand registration and complete the necessary details regarding the brand and campaign.

Benefits of Standard Brand Registration

Registering as a standard brand provides several advantages over other types:

• Increased Daily Message Limit: Allows up to 200,000 message segments per day.
• Multiple Phone Numbers Per Campaign: Offers the ability to use multiple numbers, unlike the single number allowed for some smaller brand types.

Important Considerations

• All unregistered traffic will be blocked after a specified date, and messaging services will only be available following successful brand registration.
• Businesses with incomplete registrations must complete necessary verifications to avoid deletion.

Step 3: Fill in all the required fields for Campaign Registration

The next few steps would be to feed in all the required details around Campaign Registration.

Select the Campaign Use Case and enter a description for the same.

Important: Change “company_name” to the name of the company that you have listed.

Provide Production Sample Messages and select if the hyperlink and phone number will be shown in the SMS.

It is recommended to keep this checked:

Provide details around end-user consents and opt-ins.

Make sure to input your desired URL and phone number in whichever use case example that mentions them

Once all the information is provided in the above 4 steps. Data will be submitted for A2P Profile, Brand, and Campaign Registration and you will receive the success information.

Step 4: Create a Messaging Service and link the Phone Numbers to it

The messaging service and link it to all the phone numbers available in the account will be automatically created once the campaign is approved.

Notes: For information about message sending in countries other than the US, we recommend checking out our country-specific SMS Guidelines pages to learn about any unique rules or restrictions in that country.

Notes: For now, if you are unsure about how A2P 10DLC compliance works, it will be the best strategy to stop using local & mobile numbers and start using Toll-Free numbers.

Notes: The submission may take up to 72 hours for approval. Review your customer business profile information before submitting.

SMS, MMS, and Calls are charged even before based on the response from carriers.

The feature is available for Referins Phone and Accounts.

Toll-Free Messaging as an Alternative

Toll-free messaging presents a viable alternative to A2P 10DLC, offering a verification process without relying on Brand and Campaign Registration. While A2P 10DLC provides benefits, Toll-Free messaging is another avenue worth exploring for your messaging needs.

Additional Notes and Best Practices

In addition to the core registration process, there are some additional notes and best practices to keep in mind for a successful campaign. These key points and best practices will help you navigate the A2P 10DLC ecosystem more effectively:

• Understanding Charges: Be aware that SMS, MMS, and calls may incur charges even before they are delivered, based on responses from carriers. It's important to plan your messaging strategy with these potential charges in mind.
• Account Availability: The feature is available for Referins Phone and Accounts. Ensure that your account and device are eligible for the A2P 10DLC capabilities to make the most of the benefits.
• Submission Duration: After submitting your registration, please note that the approval process may take up to 2 weeks depending on the volume of applications that have been received in the same area but sometimes it only takes up to 72 hours if the Information provided is accurate. Review your customer business profile information before submitting it to avoid potential delays.
• Maintain Consistency: Consistency in branding, website information, and sample messages is crucial. Ensure that your brand identity is accurately represented across all platforms and materials to avoid potential campaign rejection.
• Toll-Free Messaging: Consider Toll-Free messaging as an alternative to A2P 10DLC. While A2P 10DLC offers benefits, Toll-Free messaging provides an option that doesn't require Brand and Campaign Registration.
• Global Considerations: For information about sending messages in countries other than the US, refer to our country-specific SMS Guidelines pages. These guidelines provide insights into any unique rules or restrictions for each country.
• Staying Updated: The A2P 10DLC ecosystem continually evolves, and regulations may change over time. Stay informed about the latest compliance standards and best practices to ensure ongoing success.
• Opt-Out Language: Including opt-out language in your sample messages is recommended. Adding language such as "Please reply STOP to opt-out" provides recipients with an easy way to unsubscribe from your messages.

FAQ

What is the pre-requisite for A2P Standard registration?

The prerequisite to A2P registration is to create a business profile providing the EIN and additional business registration information.

What information would be required from the account to move with the registration?

The account will need a business registration EIN and some additional info like address, website and etc.

Is messaging to Canada or any other countries also affected by these changes?

No. Canadian mobile carriers may introduce registered A2P 10DLC solutions in the future, but at this time carriers have not announced any plans to do so.

I have been sending SMS forever, what has changed?

A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) is a messaging framework introduced by the wireless industry in the United States to regulate and improve the delivery of Application-to-Person text messages. It aims to address issues related to spam and unwanted messages on long codes while ensuring legitimate businesses can continue using text messaging for communication with their customers.

Does this apply to only marketing campaigns or does it apply to all SMS?

A2P 10DLC is applicable for all Application-to-Person texting like marketing SMS, reactivation campaigns, appointment reminders, prospecting, billing alerts, 2FA login codes, etc.