Twilio Adds Support for Verified SMS by Google

Cloud communications platform provider Twilio has added Verified SMS by Google to the Twilio platform, enabling businesses to send authenticated and branded text messages.

Verified SMS by Google allows businesses to leverage a branded profile for SMS and send validated messages to customers using Google's Messages application on their Android handsets.

"At Twilio, we believe trust is core to communications," said Simon Khalaf, senior vice president and general manager of messaging at Twilio, in a statement. "Businesses have a huge opportunity to increase customer engagement by building authentication into the messages they send. Verified SMS by Google is the latest of many tools Twilio provides to help businesses strengthen customer trust with every interaction."

With Twilio, Verified SMS by Google is a simple addition to existing communications workflows. Leveraging Verified SMS in the Messages app for Android, Twilio collaborates with Google to register businesses, verify their identities, and implement the back-end technology to support Verified SMS through the Twilio Programmable Messaging API.

With Verified SMS by Google businesses can safely send branded messages, with official logos appearing alongside contact information. Businesses register a profile once and their brand, company description, and logo are visible with every verified SMS. Each message is verified using a shared key between the company and end users' devices to prevent bad actors from spoofing the company's number.  With per-message verification, each authenticated message received features the brand logo, sender name, and description.

1-800-Flowers.com, SoFi, Expensify, MINDBODY, Cover, and Stackin' are among the first companies to use Verified SMS with Twilio.

"SoFi is a new kind of finance company and that means communicating with our members over their preferred channels while delivering faster service and open conversations," said Chad LaFontaine, vice president of engineering at SoFi, in a statement. "Trust is critical in the conversations we have about finances, and Verified SMS in Messages means our members can trust our brand is the source of the messages they receive and act with confidence."

"Our customers rely on us during some of the most meaningful moments in their lives, and it's important that they have high confidence in our brand," said Amit Shah, chief marketing officer at 1-800-Flowers.com, in a statement. "Twilio abstracted away the complexity of verification on the back end, and now that our messages are branded, customers can be sure that the messages they receive are trustworthy."

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