Cross border SMS Compliance Guide: Avoiding Minefields and Ensuring Every Message Arrives Safely

International SMS Compliance and Sending Guidelines for Global Business Communication.In global business communication, international SMS has become a vital channel for industries such as e-commerce, gaming, and foreign trade to reach overseas customers, thanks to its extremely high open rate and instantaneity. However, behind every seemingly simple text message lie strict compliance red lines and complex technical regulations. Lack of knowledge in these areas can lead to failed message delivery at best, and number suspension or business disruption at worst. This article systematically outlines the compliance boundaries and sending rules for international SMS, helping you use this tool safely and efficiently.

I. Content Red Lines: What Can Be Sent and What Absolutely Cannot?

First and foremost, it must be clear that international SMS is not a lawless territory. All legitimate communication service providers (e.g., IntBell) are required to comply with anti-spam regulations set by the Messaging, Malware, and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) and regulatory authorities worldwide. Content compliance is the primary and most critical lifeline.

1. Compliant Industries and Content Types Allowed for Sending

The following industries and related notification/marketing SMS are generally permitted for sending, provided that user consent is obtained (e.g., opt-in during registration, active subscription):

• E-commerce: Order confirmation, shipping notifications, logistics tracking, delivery alerts, post-sales follow-ups, member promotions (only for users who have subscribed).
• Online Gaming: Account security verification (e.g., login verification codes), important event notifications, version update reminders.
• International Logistics: Waybill status updates, customs clearance notifications, scheduled pickup/delivery alerts.
• Foreign Trade B2B: Sample delivery notifications, meeting arrangement confirmations, bill of lading information transmission, holiday business greetings.
• Financial Services: Transaction verification codes, account change alerts (subject to high compliance standards with stricter requirements in most cases).
• Enterprise Services: Appointment confirmations, meeting reminders, internal system alerts (e.g., IT operation and maintenance).

Core Principle: Content must be directly related to business operations, truthful and transparent, and provide users with a clear opt-out method (e.g., reply “STOP”).

2. Content Types Strictly Prohibited for Sending

The following content is strictly banned by global carriers. Sending such content will result in immediate number suspension and even account termination:

• Fraudulent and Phishing Messages: Impersonating banks or government agencies to solicit personal information.
• Malicious Software and Links: Containing viruses, Trojans, or links that redirect to malicious websites.
• Gambling and Loan Sharking: Promoting any form of online gambling, lottery, or high-interest loan services.
• Pornographic and Adult Content.
• Hate Speech, Harassment, and Violent Remarks.
• Infringing and Counterfeit Product Advertisements.
• “Gray Area” High-Risk Content: Content such as part-time brushing tasks, online dating services, and cryptocurrency promotions are also generally classified as high-risk categories, and are explicitly not supported for sending by most legitimate channels.

II. Special Threshold for U.S. and Canadian Markets: Mandatory 10DLC Registration

If you need to send Application-to-Person (A2P) commercial SMS to U.S. or Canadian users, “10DLC” is a keyword you cannot bypass. This is not an additional requirement imposed by service providers, but a mandatory regulatory framework launched by North American telecom carriers (e.g., AT&T, T-Mobile) to combat spam SMS.

• What is 10DLC? Short for “10 Digit Long Code”, it refers to 10-digit long phone numbers. The new regulations mandate that all U.S. local long numbers (starting with +1) used for A2P commercial SMS must complete brand and campaign registration with official authorities and undergo review.
• Consequences of Non-Registration: By default, your number cannot successfully send commercial SMS to U.S. and Canadian users, and all sending attempts will directly fail.
• Implementation Process: Taking IntBell as an example, the process is typically as follows:
  1. Contact Customer Service: Inform them of your need to enable SMS services for the U.S. and Canadian markets.
  2. Join the Service Provider’s Campaign Program: Customer service will assist you in submitting the registration application.
  3. Await Activation: After submitting the registration, carrier review and activation usually take 1-2 business days.
  4. Initial Quota: Upon completing basic registration, each number will be assigned a low initial sending limit (5 messages per day), which is mainly used for testing and low-volume notifications.
  5. Quota Upgrade: To obtain a higher sending volume (e.g., hundreds of marketing messages per day), you must complete account verification through the IntBell application. After verification, the daily sending limit can be significantly increased to 300 messages per day or more.

III. Technical Details: SMS Length and Billing Rules

Even if content is compliant and numbers are registered, failure to understand billing rules may lead to budget overruns. International SMS billing is based on encoding type and character count, with specific rules as follows:

Core Challenge: The “Higher Standard” Principle for Mixed Content
If an SMS contains even one Unicode character, the entire message will be billed according to Unicode encoding standards. This means:

• The message Your order Order#123 has been shipped. (contains Chinese characters “Your” and “has been shipped.”)
• Though this message is a mix of Chinese and English, the presence of Chinese characters means it will be billed at the rate of 70 characters per message in its entirety. If the content exceeds 70 characters, it will be split into multiple messages, each billed at the higher Unicode rate.

Billing Examples:

• Sending a pure English logistics reminder with 150 characters: Billed as 1 message.
• Sending a Chinese notification containing a customer’s name with 80 characters: As it exceeds 70 characters, it will be split into 2 messages (70 characters for the first, 10 for the second) and billed as 2 messages, with a unit price usually higher than that of GSM-7bit SMS.

Summary and Practical Recommendations

1. Compliance First, Content is King: Strictly screen content to be sent and resolutely avoid non-compliant “red zones”—this is the foundation for sustainable business operations.
2. Plan for North America, Register in Advance: If your target markets include the U.S. and Canada, be sure to initiate the 10DLC registration process at least 3-5 business days in advance, and allocate sufficient time for account verification to avoid disrupting marketing campaign schedules.
3. Streamline Text to Optimize Costs: Especially when sending notifications in Chinese or containing emojis, make every effort to streamline the copy and keep it within 70 characters (including spaces and punctuation marks) to control billing costs.
4. Choose a Transparent and Reliable Service Provider: Select a provider like IntBell that clearly communicates compliance requirements, offers guidance on 10DLC registration, and openly displays billing rules—this will help you avoid many detours.

In the field of global communication, details determine success or failure. Understanding and abiding by SMS sending rules is not only a necessary measure to avoid risks, but also the key to enhancing brand professionalism and ensuring that every customer touchpoint is safe and effective.