Sender Identification Code (Sender ID) is a custom identifier used in the global messaging world to personalize the sender name, allowing businesses to display their brand name, product name, or another desired customization to recipients instead of a number.
Using Sender IDs offers a couple of advantages:
It creates a branded experience for recipients, making the message more recognizable and increasing open and conversion rates.
It allows businesses to establish a more personal connection with their customers, as recipients can quickly identify the incoming message as being from a known and trusted source.
Sender IDs are also a good choice for one-way outbound messaging, such as one-time passwords and account notifications, confirmations, or delivery alerts.
Note: Bandwidth only supports one-way (outbound) traffic when utilizing Sender IDs.
Sender ID restrictions and requirements
Sender ID restrictions and requirements may vary depending on the country's laws, the regulations set by local authorities, and the standards imposed by local mobile network operators or the industry as a whole. Here are some key points to consider:
Country-specific support
Sender IDs aren't available everywhere. Although they’re offered in many countries in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, several key markets, including the US and Canada, don’t support them.
Registration requirements
While many countries require only KYC verification, some others also mandate pre-registration of Sender IDs and the submission of SMS templates or message content, representing an enhanced KYC+ verification. For more information, please see Sender ID KYC requirements.
Brand restrictions
To combat fraud, messaging routed through Sender IDs connected to major brands is automatically restricted and requires a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the end client granting Bandwidth permission to send traffic using the specified Sender ID.
Formatting restrictions
Alphanumeric Sender IDs must contain at least one letter. While some countries and mobile network carriers may impose minimum length restrictions or modifications, standard alphanumeric Sender IDs can contain up to 11 characters, including:
Upper-case letters (A-Z)
Lower-case letters (a-z)
Numbers (0-9)
Space
Opt-out/unsubscribe instructions
To ensure compliance with marketing and advertising guidelines, especially for promotional use cases, you may need to include opt-out or unsubscribe instructions in the message body when using Sender IDs.
Sender ID definitions
Alphanumeric Sender ID: A combination of alphanumeric characters identifying a Brand Owner’s company name, brands, services, or products that serve as the outgoing messaging sender identifier.
Customer: Any company engaged in a commercial relationship with Bandwidth and utilizing one-way messaging services with the Sender ID(s).
Brand Owner: The company that owns a brand, product, or service used as a Sender ID, and is the company that will be subject to the Sender ID validation process explained below. This may or may not be the same as the Bandwidth customer submitting the request.
End User: The sender party (A-party) of an SMS using the Sender ID(s). Please note that the End User may not always be the Brand Owner associated with the Sender ID(s).
KYC: Short for Know-Your-Customer, this refers to processes and procedures that companies, including telecommunication providers, undertake to verify the identities of their customers and mitigate the risks of identity fraud or brand misrepresentation.
Sender ID registration process
Log in to the Bandwidth App.
On the right side, click Support and select Ask a question to chat with Synthi.
Ask to register a Sender ID and then click Create ticket to fill out the registration form.
Enter the required information and upload a valid government-issued business registration document dated within the last 12 months for the Brand Owner. Once you're ready, click Create ticket to submit your registration request form to the Bandwidth Messaging Registration Support Team.
Next steps
If we’re unable to establish a clear link between your selected Sender ID(s) and the legal or commercial name of the Brand Owner, its brands, services, or products, your form won’t be validated and will be returned to you for review and correction.
If your form is successfully validated, the next step will vary depending on the specified destination countries, as some have additional KYC+ in-country requirements:
In the event of a successful validation with in-country requirements for your Sender ID(s), our Messaging Registration Support Team will contact you for further information and/or documentation, depending on the market.
In the event of a successful validation without in-country requirements for your Sender ID(s), services will be enabled once the details are sent to our supplier. Our Messaging Registration Support Team will confirm once this is complete.
Note: Registration timelines depend on the country and can vary from a few days to up to a month.