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“Thank you Bidvest team for your great service throughout 2024.”
- MTN
“Working with the Bidvest team is a real pleasure. We've thoroughly enjoyed partnering with a local provider for our business' WhatsApp profile - invoicing is simple and our templates are loaded and approved speedily. Prepaid24 would highly recommend Bidvest. Such a seamless process from setup to production!”
- Prepaid24
“We're incredibly grateful to the Bidvest Data Team who go above and beyond to support us with vital customer communication. Their commitment and innovation has kept us at the forefront of electronic customer engagement.”
- Sanlam Retail Mass
“Dear Bidvest team, Just wanted to take the time to say a very special thank you to TEAM BIDVEST. Everyone at OUP thanks all the people involved over the last few weeks and trust me, everyone in our organization now knows how much we can depend on Bidvest and we're all truly grateful for your efforts. Your responsiveness to our changing needs and requests is truly appreciated”
- Oxford
Unlock the potential of zero-rated SMS solutions for your enterprise. Explore setup steps, compliance measures, and industry applications for effective communication.
In the realm of enterprise communication, zero-rated SMS solutions have emerged as a powerful tool, particularly in South Africa where mobile communication remains a key aspect of customer engagement strategy. This setup guide provides a thorough overview of how businesses can effectively implement zero-rated SMS solutions, ensuring compliance, optimizing costs, and enhancing stakeholder communication.
Zero-rated SMS solutions offer enterprises the ability to send messages that do not incur data charges for the recipient, creating a powerful avenue for communication especially in low-income communities where data costs can be prohibitive. For organizations, this means being able to reach customers and stakeholders effectively without the worry of message delivery costs being a barrier.
Implementing zero-rated SMS solutions involves several crucial steps that ensure a smooth integration with existing business processes. Below, we provide a systematic approach to setting up your solution:
Compliance is critical when implementing zero-rated SMS solutions. Businesses must adhere to the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and other relevant regulations to protect customer data and privacy. Develop a clear strategy for managing opt-in processes for SMS communications and ensure that customers can easily unsubscribe from messaging lists.
Zero-rated SMS solutions find applications across various industries in South Africa, enabling businesses to communicate vital information effectively while considering customer affordability. Here are a few industries utilizing these solutions:
Banks and micro-finance companies use zero-rated SMS for sending transaction alerts, payment confirmations, and account updates to customers in need of affordable communication options.
Healthcare providers leverage zero-rated SMS to send appointment reminders, medication alerts, and follow-up messages, providing essential health information without additional costs for patients.
Zero-rated SMS solutions are set to become a cornerstone of enterprise communication strategies in South Africa. By understanding how to effectively set up these systems, organizations can not only enhance customer engagement but also contribute to a more inclusive communication environment. Enterprises that embrace these solutions will garner significant returns on investment by creating strong, responsive connections with their customer base.
Get started today and see immediate results
“Thank you Bidvest team for your great service throughout 2024.”
- MTN
“Working with the Bidvest team is a real pleasure. We've thoroughly enjoyed partnering with a local provider for our business' WhatsApp profile - invoicing is simple and our templates are loaded and approved speedily. Prepaid24 would highly recommend Bidvest. Such a seamless process from setup to production!”
- Prepaid24
“We're incredibly grateful to the Bidvest Data Team who go above and beyond to support us with vital customer communication. Their commitment and innovation has kept us at the forefront of electronic customer engagement.”
- Sanlam Retail Mass
“Dear Bidvest team, Just wanted to take the time to say a very special thank you to TEAM BIDVEST. Everyone at OUP thanks all the people involved over the last few weeks and trust me, everyone in our organization now knows how much we can depend on Bidvest and we're all truly grateful for your efforts. Your responsiveness to our changing needs and requests is truly appreciated”
- Oxford
Get answers to common questions about Sms And Svsms
Discover our comprehensive solution features designed to transform your business communication experience

Bidvest Data sends on average more than 10 million personalized SMS/SV SMS messages per month, with daily peaks exceeding 2 million messages. This comprises mainly of transactional notifications and hosted transactional data.

The SMS channel delivers a secure, shortened personalized URL to the consumer, directing them to their unique microsite. All consumer activity can be tracked.

PDF documents, HTML content, videos and animations can be hosted on our Zero Rated Data domains. Reverse billing of data on these domains ensure access for end users to content at no cost. Bidvest Data offers this service on all South African and Namibian mobile networks.

Bidvest Data offers custom-built, screen adaptive, HTML environments, enabling features like animation, rotating GIFs, and interactive buttons.

Our service includes automated large file batch sending through sFTP data transfer. The data can selectively drive template messaging. Near real-time SMS sending is facilitated through our API, using templates or dynamic text.

Where another channel in our omnichannel platform is unsuccessful in delivering a message, we can automatically fail over to SMS. Priority and fail over channels are configurable.

Bidvest Data provides near-real-time and periodic aggregate batched reporting on consumer engagement, including link tracking, SMS and SV SMS delivery status, and customized reports on microsite access.