Sending SMS and WhatsApp messages
Certificates can be distributed by SMS or WhatsApp message thanks to the sending features integrated into the BCdiploma application. Recipients will receive a message containing the link to the certificate, sent by BCdiploma on behalf of the issuing institution.
These messages are sent through specialized providers connected to the BCdiploma platform: no integration or technical configuration is required on your side.
These features work in a similar way to sending emails: test sending, individual or bulk sending from a report, and sending report. They are only accessible if a field dedicated to the holder's mobile phone number was initially provided in the data model of your certificate template.
Important
Sending by SMS and WhatsApp incurs additional costs and is billed according to actual usage. Feel free to contact us to find out more. SMS and WhatsApp sending is not available for micro-credentials.
Phone number format
The phone numbers in your certificate data must be prefixed with the international dialing code of the recipient's country (international format, starting with +). This rule applies to both SMS and WhatsApp sending.
A few examples:
| Country | Local number | Number expected in the data |
|---|---|---|
| France | 06 12 34 56 78 | +33612345678 |
| Uruguay | 099 123 456 | +59899123456 |
Info
Note that in most countries the leading "0" of the local number is dropped when the number is written in international format.
Entering numbers in Excel
In Excel, a cell starting with "+" is interpreted as a formula. To avoid this, prefix your phone numbers with an apostrophe: '+33612345678. The apostrophe is ignored when the data is imported; only the number in international format is kept.
If some numbers do not comply with the international format, a warning is displayed in the backoffice, for example:
Some phone numbers are invalid: 0679675354
Phone numbers must be in international format, starting with "+" (e.g. +33612345678). In Excel, prefix them with an apostrophe ('+33612345678).
SMS-specific considerations
Allowed characters
The text of SMS messages is limited to the characters of the GSM-7 standard, a table of 128 characters including unaccented Latin letters, digits, common punctuation, and a few accented letters (é, è, à, ù...). Some characters, notably emojis and most accented letters, are not part of it.
Message length
The message length is limited to a maximum of 306 characters (i.e. 2 standard SMS messages). The message must contain the BCdiploma link to the certificate, whose length counts toward this limit.
SMS sender
In France, the sender displayed for SMS messages is "BCdiploma". Depending on the recipient's country, carriers may require the sender to be replaced by a short code: in that case, neither "BCdiploma" nor the name of your institution can appear as the sender of the SMS.
Tips
In that case, your institution is identified through the content of the message. Since the SMS text can be customized in the backoffice, we recommend including the name of your institution in the very first words, for example: MyInstitution - Your certificate is available: [link].
WhatsApp-specific considerations
Predefined texts
WhatsApp messages are based on predefined text templates. The WhatsApp for Business platform requires each message template to be approved by Meta before it can be used. The texts sent via WhatsApp have therefore been reviewed and approved by Meta beforehand, and they cannot be modified directly in the interface.
WhatsApp message sender
The sender of WhatsApp messages is "BCdiploma", in all countries. The WhatsApp for Business platform only allows entities that have verified their identity with WhatsApp to display their name at the top of messages.
The number used for these messages is a virtual number provided by Meta, in the form +1 555 xxx xxxx. It is not tied to any actual geographic area: depending on the WhatsApp version and the recipient's country, the app may show the number's origin as "unknown region" or "United States" (because of the +1 country code). In all cases, the "BCdiploma" identity displayed is the one verified by Meta.