RCS Event Tickets and Passes: Sell and Deliver Them on Google RCS

The complete guide

RCS Event Tickets and Passes: Sell and Deliver Them on Google RCS: everything you need to know

What are RCS event tickets and passes

Short answer: RCS event tickets and passes are ticket confirmations, entry passes, QR codes and event updates delivered through Google RCS Business Messaging. The customer sees a branded sender with your logo and verified badge, event images and action buttons, so the ticket message becomes the ticket. Com.Bot runs RCS alongside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and a website chat widget in one platform.

RCS event tickets and passes are ticket confirmations, entry passes, QR codes and event updates delivered through Google RCS Business Messaging (RBM). RCS is the rich messaging standard built into Google Messages on supported Android phones. Instead of a plain SMS with a link, the customer sees a branded sender with your logo and verified badge, an image of the event, and buttons to add the date to a calendar, open a map or show the pass at the gate.

For organizers, this matters because the ticket message becomes the ticket. A concert promoter, a conference team, a comedy club or a temple trust can send a pass that the buyer keeps in the same thread where they bought it. There is no app to install and no PDF to hunt for in email. The message carries the event name, date, seat or tier, and a scannable code or link that gate staff can check.

Com.Bot runs RCS alongside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and a website chat widget in one platform. That means a business can promote an event on Instagram, take the booking conversation on WhatsApp, and deliver the final pass over Google RCS, all from one shared inbox with one contact record.

• Branded sender with logo and verified badge
• Images, carousels and suggested reply buttons
• Read receipts so you know the pass was seen
• Check RCS reach before you send

Why Google RCS works for event tickets and passes

Short answer: Google RCS works for event tickets because the sender is verified, so buyers see the organizer's name and logo instead of an unknown SMS link. Read receipts show whether a reminder was seen, and rich cards present multiple events or pass tiers with images and buttons. RCS sits in the default messaging app where Android users already look.

Event messaging lives or dies on timing and trust. A ticket that arrives as an unknown SMS link gets ignored or reported. On RCS, the sender is verified, so the buyer sees the organizer's name and logo. That single detail raises open rates and reduces the number of people who turn up at the gate without their pass. Read receipts also tell the box office whether a reminder was actually seen before show day.

Rich cards do work that plain text cannot. A festival with three stages and four pass tiers can send one carousel where each card is a pass type with its own image, price and Buy button. A theatre can send a seat map image with a suggested reply for each showtime. A marathon can send a route map, a bib number and a start-time reminder in one thread.

RCS also sits in the default messaging app, which is where most Android users already look for delivery updates, bank alerts and one-time codes. That habit works in your favor. A pass that lands next to a food delivery update feels normal, not intrusive. And because Com.Bot supports WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and RCS together, you can reach iPhone users on WhatsApp and Android users on RCS without running two separate systems.

• Verified sender builds trust before the gate
• Carousels present multiple events or pass tiers
• Action buttons cut steps to payment and entry
• One platform covers RCS, WhatsApp and social DMs

How to set up RCS event tickets and passes in Com.Bot

Short answer: To set up RCS event tickets in Com.Bot, first complete Google brand and agent verification with Com.Bot's guidance. Then build the booking flow in the visual drag-and-drop bot builder, collect payment, and send the pass as a rich card with a QR code. The automation builder syncs bookings to your CRM and schedules reminders.

Start by getting your RCS agent verified. Google requires brand and agent verification before a business can launch RCS messaging. Com.Bot guides you through the submission, including your business details, logo and the use case. Once approved, your agent appears in Google Messages with your brand name and verified badge. This is the same pattern as the green tick on WhatsApp: the platform grants verification, and your provider helps you apply and stay compliant.

Next, build the ticket flow in the Com.Bot visual drag-and-drop bot builder. A typical flow starts with a trigger, such as a customer tapping a RCS ad, replying to a promo, or scanning a QR code at a venue. The bot asks which event or pass tier they want, collects name and quantity, and sends a payment link or native payment request. On payment success, the bot sends the pass as an RCS rich card with the event image, date, venue, seat details and a QR code or entry link.

Then connect the rest of your stack. The automation builder has 1,000+ integrations, bot triggers and external actions such as API calls and webhooks. You can push each booking into your ticketing system, update your contacts CRM, and schedule reminders. A reminder 24 hours before the event and another two hours before the gate opens can be sent as utility messages about a booking the customer already made. Com.Bot also supports order and delivery notifications, so the same setup handles merchandise or food pre-orders tied to the event.

• Verify your RCS agent with Com.Bot's help
• Build the booking flow in the visual bot builder
• Send the pass as a rich card with QR code
• Sync bookings to your CRM and ticketing tools
• Schedule pre-event reminders automatically

RCS event tickets and passes: rules and compliance

Short answer: RCS event tickets and passes require brand and agent verification before launch, and messages must match your registered use case. Send only to people who opted in or booked, keep promotional and transactional messages separate, honor opt-outs and refunds, and never send a pass to someone who did not book. Com.Bot applies the same discipline to RCS.

RCS Business Messaging has its own rules, and they are enforced. Brands need agent verification before launch, and the messages must match the use case you registered. Promotional content, ticket sales and event updates are allowed, but you cannot use RCS for content that violates Google's policies, such as gambling where prohibited, adult content or misleading offers. Keep your sender identity consistent with your verified brand.

Consent matters. People should expect to hear from you because they bought a ticket, opted in on your website or asked for updates. For promotional messages about future events, use a clear opt-in and offer an easy way to stop. Transactional messages, such as a ticket confirmation or a gate-change alert for an event the customer already booked, are expected and generally welcome. Do not mix a promotional offer into a utility confirmation in a way that confuses the category.

On the WhatsApp side of the same platform, the rules are similar in spirit: business-initiated messages need approved templates and opted-in contacts, and replies open a 24-hour service window. Com.Bot applies the same discipline to RCS. Keep your event data accurate, honor refunds and cancellations, and never send a pass to someone who did not book. A clean list and honest messaging protect your sender reputation and keep your RCS agent in good standing.

• Complete brand and agent verification first
• Send only to people who opted in or booked
• Keep promotional and transactional messages separate
• Honor opt-outs and refund requests promptly
• Match message content to your registered use case

Mistakes to avoid with RCS event tickets and passes

Short answer: The biggest mistake with RCS event tickets is treating RCS like bulk SMS and blasting purchased lists, which can get your agent suspended. Other mistakes include sending a bare link instead of a rich card, poor timing, ignoring RCS reach on unsupported devices, and failing to brief gate staff on scanning and manual lookup.

The most common mistake is treating RCS like bulk SMS. Blasting a promo to a purchased list gets you blocked and can get your agent suspended. Build your list from real bookings, website opt-ins and social conversations. Another mistake is sending the pass as a bare link. The whole advantage of RCS is the rich card: use the event image, the date, the venue and a clear button. A plain link wastes the channel.

A second mistake is poor timing. Sending the pass weeks early means it gets buried. Sending it an hour before the gate opens means people are already traveling. A confirmation at booking, a reminder 24 hours out and a final nudge with the QR code two hours before entry works well for most events. Test the sequence and adjust based on read receipts and gate scans.

A third mistake is ignoring RCS reach. Not every phone supports RCS. If a buyer is on an older device or a network without RCS, the pass must still arrive. Check which customers RCS can reach before a campaign, and plan how to reach the rest, for example a WhatsApp message or, in India, a separate SMS campaign from Com.Bot. Finally, do not forget the gate. Train staff to scan the QR code or check the pass link, and have a manual lookup ready in your CRM for the rare case where a phone is dead.

• Do not buy lists or send unsolicited promos
• Do not send a plain link when a rich card works
• Do not send the pass too early or too late
• Always check RCS reach for unsupported devices
• Brief gate staff on scanning and manual lookup

Measuring results and costs for RCS event tickets

Short answer: Measure RCS event tickets by messages delivered, read rate, booking conversion, reminder open rate and gate scan rate, using RCS read receipts and Com.Bot conversation history. Com.Bot plans are billed quarterly in USD: Silver $149, Gold $349 and Platinum V1 $2,500. Carrier and Google charges for RCS messages are separate from your plan.

Track the numbers that matter to an event business: messages delivered, read rate, booking conversion, reminder open rate and gate scan rate. RCS read receipts give you a clearer picture than SMS. In Com.Bot, you can see bot triggers, external actions and conversation history in one place, and push booking data into your CRM to measure repeat attendance. Compare RCS against your other channels to see where the pass is actually opened.

On cost, Com.Bot plans are billed quarterly in USD. Silver is $149 and includes 1 WhatsApp API channel, 1M contacts, 5 team members and 1 commerce store. Gold is $349 and is the recommended plan, with 10 team members, 2M bot triggers and 40 messages per second. Platinum V1 is $2,500 with 3 channels, 5M contacts, 25 team members and 100 messages per second. Add-ons include extra team members, social channels or ecommerce stores at $10 per month each, external actions at $10 per 5,000 and bot triggers at $10 per 25,000.

Carrier and Google charges for RCS messages are separate from your Com.Bot plan and are billed at the rates set by those providers. WhatsApp message charges are billed separately from the plan, based on message category and the recipient's country (customers can ask the team for current rates), with no monthly conversation cap. Payment for plans can be made by card, UPI, PayPal, crypto or bank transfer. For a small venue or a first festival, start on Silver, measure the gate scan rate, and move up when volume and team size justify it.

• Watch read rate, booking conversion and gate scans
• Use CRM data to measure repeat attendance
• Silver $149, Gold $349, Platinum V1 $2,500 per quarter
• Channel charges billed separately from your plan
• Add-ons for team members, triggers and actions

Frequently asked questions