Canada toll-free messaging best practices
The Canadian market has continued to evolve in its adoption of Business Texting and establishing operational processes to support sanctioned toll-free traffic. The environment continues to evolve and remains fluid, but the messaging content policies and best practices guide remain the key framework for message deliverability across our vendor's network. In addition to these documents, consider the following supplementary nuances when sending traffic toward Canada:
Higher throughput
Higher throughput messaging on toll-free numbers (TFNs) is subject to individual operator limits. SMS can be sent at higher throughputs, similar to US traffic. However, for best results on MMS, it's recommended that you keep the sending rate from a single TFN below 1 MPS, as high throughput messaging could get blocked by operators.
Content
HTTPS URLs are permitted, but HTTP URLs, stock trading content, and marketing content are not.
Opt-outs
Opt-outs need to stay below 1%.
Stop language
Customer must send stop language on the first message and at least every 5th message or at least once a month for continued consumer awareness, but sending it on every message is recommended.
URLs
Shorteners see higher block rates, so it's recommended to use the full URL domain. Unsecured URLs are not allowed.
Single number sending
Zero snowshoeing policy. If a single number gets blocked with the Canadian carriers, please don't move traffic to another number.
Brand identify
Messages should always identify who the sender of the message is.
Message frequency
The number of messages sent to a subscriber should not exceed 10 in a month. If the subscriber is expected to receive multiple messages from the sender, that should be stated in the beginning when a user opts in.
Customer support keywords
Customer should support info, help, start, stop, as well as all their French translations, and send a bounce back in the corresponding language of the keyword.
False positives
Our vendor actively monitors for false positives and will act on behalf of our customers if traffic has been submitted through the verification process. If you experience blocking, please submit a ticket with the business information of the sender and the opt-in path.
"Data rates may apply" verbiage
In cases where the consumer receives a message containing a clickable link to a site accessible on the consumer’s mobile phone, messaging must additionally state that “Data rates may apply.” Using “Std msg & data rates may apply” is also considered acceptable.
Important: All programs are subject to our vendor's and/or carrier consent audits. Failure to comply with a requested consent audit may result in the suspension or cancellation of messaging programs.
Questions? Please open a ticket with your Bandwidth Support Team or hit us up at (855) 864-7776!
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