RCS is a next-generation messaging standard that supports rich content, including images, branded sender profiles, carousels, and interactive buttons within a phone’s native messaging app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infobip\u2019s RCS API was first integrated with Ship Logic\u2019s platform in October 2023. The implementation was only recently completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The extended timeframe was likely due to delays at South Africa\u2019s mobile network operators in supporting the messaging technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS allows Shiplogic to send customers real-time delivery updates with interactive tracking features and two-way communication at a lower cost than traditional SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infobip’s customer growth executive, Lerato Bojabotseha, said the RCS solution offered Bob Group improved engagement while maintaining cost-efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shiplogic operations manager Stephan Naud\u00e9 said expanding RCS across all Bob Group services with Infobip is central to the company’s growth plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group operates a full-stack ecommerce ecosystem in South Africa that includes Bob Shop, Bob Go, Bob Box, Bob Pay, and formerly Shiplogic, serving suppliers and SMEs across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shiplogic needed a scalable and cost-effective communication solution to replace traditional SMS and email for delivery notifications and customer service interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company said RCS supports its move toward a paperless future, using digital PINs instead of physical signatures for parcel verification, with verified messaging enhancing trust in transactional communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infobip’s RCS API was integrated with Shiplogic’s platform with what the company described as minimal disruption to existing operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Shiplogic became an independent company in July 2025, the partnership expanded to include WhatsApp integration and a broader omnichannel messaging strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS availability remains patchy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Shiplogic-logo-on-numerous-courier-boxes.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe deployment highlights both the potential and the limitations of RCS in South Africa, where network support remains inconsistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group told MyBroadband that Vodacom has fully embraced RCS and recently migrated to Google’s Jibe infrastructure, but other mobile network operators have been slower to adopt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company said its data shows that support is not universal, with consumer devices on the MTN network in some cases showing no RCS availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A specific bottleneck exists with Telkom, which has impacted the registration of new RCS senders and means delivery cannot currently be guaranteed across all networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS requires a combination of the correct mobile network, device type, and operator support for Google’s Universal Profile standard to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this inconsistency in support, Bob Group recommended that businesses always configure WhatsApp and SMS as a fallback channel to ensure message delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Infobip-Bob-Group-Shiplogic-RCS-announcement-1200x675.jpg\")
Lerato Bojabotseha, Customer Growth Executive at Infobip; and Stephan Naud\u00e9, Operations Manager at Ship Logic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe main benefit of RCS is that it offers a clear pricing advantage over WhatsApp for South African businesses sending high-volume notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on rate cards effective through April 2026, WhatsApp marketing messages in South Africa cost approximately R0.63 per message, while utility and one-time PIN messages cost around R0.13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS typically costs a few cents less than WhatsApp per message, though exact pricing varies by volume and aggregator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SMS remains the most reliable channel, working even without a data connection, but is limited to 160 characters and lacks the rich media capabilities of both RCS and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group said WhatsApp is also stricter about message templates, which makes it harder for businesses to navigate, but results in a less spammy experience for users compared to RCS and SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS has the advantage of working within the phone’s native messaging app, meaning users do not need to download a separate application or create a user account in Meta\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The table below summarises Bob Group\u2019s feedback about the three messaging channels currently available to South African businesses looking to engage customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nChannel<\/th> Cost per message<\/th> Rich media<\/th> Data required<\/th> Key advantage<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> RCS<\/strong><\/td>Lowest of the rich channels<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Native to messaging app, no separate account needed<\/td><\/tr> WhatsApp<\/strong><\/td>~R0.63 (marketing), ~R0.13 (utility)<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Highest engagement, stricter spam controls<\/td><\/tr> SMS<\/strong><\/td>Varies<\/td> No<\/td> No<\/td> Guaranteed delivery on any device<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infobip says it has completed South Africa’s first live RCS implementation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":602162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[81364,71742,42,39996,100617,109,41],"class_list":["post-632568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","tag-bob-group","tag-infobip","tag-mtn","tag-rich-communications-services-rcs","tag-shiplogic","tag-telkom","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632570,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions\/632570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe deployment highlights both the potential and the limitations of RCS in South Africa, where network support remains inconsistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group told MyBroadband that Vodacom has fully embraced RCS and recently migrated to Google’s Jibe infrastructure, but other mobile network operators have been slower to adopt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company said its data shows that support is not universal, with consumer devices on the MTN network in some cases showing no RCS availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A specific bottleneck exists with Telkom, which has impacted the registration of new RCS senders and means delivery cannot currently be guaranteed across all networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS requires a combination of the correct mobile network, device type, and operator support for Google’s Universal Profile standard to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this inconsistency in support, Bob Group recommended that businesses always configure WhatsApp and SMS as a fallback channel to ensure message delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\nLerato Bojabotseha, Customer Growth Executive at Infobip; and Stephan Naud\u00e9, Operations Manager at Ship Logic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe main benefit of RCS is that it offers a clear pricing advantage over WhatsApp for South African businesses sending high-volume notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on rate cards effective through April 2026, WhatsApp marketing messages in South Africa cost approximately R0.63 per message, while utility and one-time PIN messages cost around R0.13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS typically costs a few cents less than WhatsApp per message, though exact pricing varies by volume and aggregator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SMS remains the most reliable channel, working even without a data connection, but is limited to 160 characters and lacks the rich media capabilities of both RCS and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group said WhatsApp is also stricter about message templates, which makes it harder for businesses to navigate, but results in a less spammy experience for users compared to RCS and SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS has the advantage of working within the phone’s native messaging app, meaning users do not need to download a separate application or create a user account in Meta\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The table below summarises Bob Group\u2019s feedback about the three messaging channels currently available to South African businesses looking to engage customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nChannel<\/th> Cost per message<\/th> Rich media<\/th> Data required<\/th> Key advantage<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> RCS<\/strong><\/td>Lowest of the rich channels<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Native to messaging app, no separate account needed<\/td><\/tr> WhatsApp<\/strong><\/td>~R0.63 (marketing), ~R0.13 (utility)<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Highest engagement, stricter spam controls<\/td><\/tr> SMS<\/strong><\/td>Varies<\/td> No<\/td> No<\/td> Guaranteed delivery on any device<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infobip says it has completed South Africa’s first live RCS implementation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":602162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[81364,71742,42,39996,100617,109,41],"class_list":["post-632568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","tag-bob-group","tag-infobip","tag-mtn","tag-rich-communications-services-rcs","tag-shiplogic","tag-telkom","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632570,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions\/632570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The main benefit of RCS is that it offers a clear pricing advantage over WhatsApp for South African businesses sending high-volume notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on rate cards effective through April 2026, WhatsApp marketing messages in South Africa cost approximately R0.63 per message, while utility and one-time PIN messages cost around R0.13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS typically costs a few cents less than WhatsApp per message, though exact pricing varies by volume and aggregator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SMS remains the most reliable channel, working even without a data connection, but is limited to 160 characters and lacks the rich media capabilities of both RCS and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Group said WhatsApp is also stricter about message templates, which makes it harder for businesses to navigate, but results in a less spammy experience for users compared to RCS and SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RCS has the advantage of working within the phone’s native messaging app, meaning users do not need to download a separate application or create a user account in Meta\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The table below summarises Bob Group\u2019s feedback about the three messaging channels currently available to South African businesses looking to engage customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infobip says it has completed South Africa’s first live RCS implementation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":602162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[81364,71742,42,39996,100617,109,41],"class_list":["post-632568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","tag-bob-group","tag-infobip","tag-mtn","tag-rich-communications-services-rcs","tag-shiplogic","tag-telkom","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632570,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632568\/revisions\/632570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Channel<\/th> Cost per message<\/th> Rich media<\/th> Data required<\/th> Key advantage<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> RCS<\/strong><\/td> Lowest of the rich channels<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Native to messaging app, no separate account needed<\/td><\/tr> WhatsApp<\/strong><\/td> ~R0.63 (marketing), ~R0.13 (utility)<\/td> Yes<\/td> Yes<\/td> Highest engagement, stricter spam controls<\/td><\/tr> SMS<\/strong><\/td> Varies<\/td> No<\/td> No<\/td> Guaranteed delivery on any device<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"