Business RCS Traffic to Surpass 200 Billion Messages by 2027

A new study by Juniper Research forecasts that Rich Communication Services (RCS) for business traffic will exceed 200 billion messages globally by 2027. This means that the traffic will almost triple from 70 billion in 2025.

However, growth will be disproportionate across markets, with adoption accelerating in the US following the roll-out of RCS on iOS, while other regions lag despite expanding reach. Juniper Research attributes this disparity to challenges in brand onboarding, which remain a significant barrier to wider adoption.

“While growth in 2025 was significant, adoption varied across markets where Apple introduced RCS. In the US, uptake has been supported by a simplified brand verification process, where brands are familiar with the requirements and onboarding is managed by third-party providers. Across other regions, this process has yet to be standardised, making onboarding more complex and time-consuming for brands,” said Molly Gatford, Senior Research Analyst at Juniper Research.

As interest in RCS for Business grows in 2026, the focus must be on lowering barriers for brands to test the channel. Partnering with third-party verification bodies provides an opportunity for operators to accelerate the onboarding process. Simplifying this process will encourage more brands to experiment with RCS, driving traffic growth across markets worldwide. “Communication Service Providers must also support brand verification by aggregating verification requirements across operators. Managing this process on behalf of brands will help reduce complexity and remove an obstacle to adoption,” Gatford concluded.