A rich card is a structured RCS message that combines an image or video, a title, a short description and one or more action buttons into a single interactive block inside the native messaging app.
A rich card is the basic building block of interactive RCS messaging. Where an SMS carries plain text and a link, a rich card packages media, text and actions together: an image or short video at the top, a title, a description and up to several buttons such as "Copy Pix code", "Track order" or "Reschedule". Several rich cards can be grouped horizontally into a carousel, which is how product catalogues and multi-option offers are usually presented.
The business value is fewer steps. Each button performs an action directly — opening a URL, dialling a number, sharing a location or sending a pre-set reply — so the customer does not have to copy a code, switch apps or type. That reduction in friction is where most of the measurable lift over SMS comes from in billing, order tracking and appointment flows.
Example: a Brazilian utility sends a rich card with the invoice amount, a "Copy Pix code" button and a "View boleto" button, replacing a text message with a bare link.
Vivo, Claro and TIM coverage, iPhone status, where RCS beats SMS in Brazil and how to launch with SMS fallback.
You pay per SMS sent, but only delivered OTPs work. A worked example shows why the cheapest vendor costs more.
Bulk SMS alone leaks budget. Verify the list, then run WhatsApp-first with SMS fallback.
