SMS billing, sender IDs and the paperwork.
How SMS is billed from your wallet, which sender ID your messages use, and how to register your own in Nigeria and Kenya. Every endpoint named here is in the API reference.
SMS is pay as you go
SMS does not need a paid plan. Open SMS & sender IDs in the console, enable SMS, top up your wallet, and every message is charged to the wallet when it is queued. The page shows the price per message for each country. A message the network refuses is refunded to the wallet.
Send with `POST /v1/sms` for transactional text, or with `POST /v1/verify/send` and channel: "sms" for one-time codes.
The sender ID your messages show
Every message goes out under a sender ID, the name the recipient sees.
- Shared: by default your messages use Notix's shared sender ID for the country. There is nothing to set up, and it works on every plan.
- Your own: a Pro team can register its own sender ID (for example
ACMEBANK), so messages and codes carry your name. Once approved it becomes your team's default, and you can also pass it assenderIdon each request. An approved sender ID also unlocks a custom one-time code template on the same page.
A sender ID is 1 to 11 letters and digits, and may contain a hyphen (H-PAYRIDE).
Requesting your own
On SMS & sender IDs, choose Request a sender ID, then pick the ID, the country and what it is for:
| Use | For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional and OTP (corporate) | Codes, receipts, alerts | The only kind Notix sends with today. In Nigeria this is what reaches numbers on the DND (Do Not Disturb) list. |
| Marketing (promotional) | Campaign messages | Registered now; usable once SMS campaigns ship. Networks do not deliver promotional messages to DND numbers. |
| Outside your country (international) | Sending to numbers abroad | Registered now; usable once international routes ship. |
A one-time registration fee, shown on the page, is charged to your wallet when Notix submits the request to the networks, and refunded if the networks reject it.
Nigeria: the paperwork
For a transactional (corporate) sender ID in Nigeria the networks require:
- Your CAC certificate of incorporation.
- A signed letter to each network (MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile) on your letterhead. Download each network's template from the request, print it on your letterhead, sign it and upload the scan.
- A regulator's licence (CBN, NCC, money lenders or cooperative), only if your business is regulated.
The request also asks for your registered company name and a sample of a message the ID will send. Upload each document as a PDF of 5 MB or less; you can replace a file until Notix submits the request. Notix files everything with the networks; allow about two weeks for approval. Kenya needs no documents beyond the request itself.
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Requested | With Notix. Upload your documents; nothing is charged yet. |
| Submitted | Notix has filed it with the networks and charged the registration fee. Documents are locked. |
| Approved | Live. Your messages now use it by default. |
| Rejected | The networks declined it and the fee is refunded. Fix the paperwork and Notix can resubmit. |
Delivery and failover
Delivery status arrives through the sms.sent, sms.delivered and sms.failed webhooks, or by reading the message back with `GET /v1/sms/{id}`. deliveryReason carries a plain reason when a message fails, for example that the number is on DND or is not in service.
If the provider Notix routed your message through refuses it for a reason on its side (a gateway fault, a sender ID it does not know) rather than because of the number, Notix retries once through another provider with an approved sender ID for the country. You see one message and one charge either way. Refusals about the number itself (invalid, blacklisted, or DND for a promotional ID) are final and refunded.