Introduction Last updated: 2023-04-02
ShortCodes are special Five digit numbers, significantly shorter and easy to remember numbers unlike the normal telephone numbers eg. 22138, 21441 that are used to facilitated communication on mobile phones. Shortcodes can be configured in a number of ways depending on your desired interaction and the need of use.
- Zero rate:Your consumer is not billed for any interactions over the shortcode and you meet the cost of the messaging
- Normal rate:Your consumer is charged at the rate of their subscribed tariff, with no additional cost to you, all cost is taken care by the subscribed consumer
- Premium rate:Your consumer is billed at an agreed and set rate higher than their normal tariff
Billing can be done on MO – Mobile origination, where if your consumer does not have the required airtime balance they will not access the service (excellent for upfront content purchases, opinion polls and lotteries ) or MT – Mobile Termination, where consumers can access the service with fulfilment and billing happening as the content or response is delivered ( excellent for subscription based services ).
Use Cases
Some of the use cases include the following
Entertainment
Send customized entertainment updates to your subscribers and generate revenue. Share local content, news updates or music files with ease
Collect Feedback
An effective way to conduct surveys is by using SMS. Send questions to your users and give them the platform to answer back and provide valuable feedback.
Notification Services
Add instant notifications to your applications to inform your clients when important events are generated. Sample scenarios include financial transactions, reminders or sharing updates with your users
Revenue Share
The amount you can earn from the premium content send to your subscribers is based on the following:
- SMS Volume
- Cost Per SMS
On the total volume revenue 33.4% goes to the Government of Kenya before the below deduction by PRS (Safaricom)
Summary
Price Range | Service Provider Share(Safaricom) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Ksh Inclusive Taxes | 0 – 100,000 | 100,001 – 1,000,000 | above 1,000,001 |
0.00 – 1.00 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
1.01 – 5.00 | 20% | 50% | 60% |
above 5.00 | 50% | 60% | 70% |
After the above deductions, the revenue that remaining is what gets to you as the client at the end of the month after the stats are shared by Safaricom
Pricing
Cost to getting started with Shortcodes
Dedicated Shortcodes
Telcos | Set Up | Monthly Maintenance per Telco |
---|---|---|
Safaricom | KES 30,000 | KES 15,000 |
Note
- Prices are 16% VAT exclusive
- Set up fee is a prepayment for the first two months
Shared Shortcode (Price Per Keyword)
Set Up (Per Keyword) | Monthly Maintenance |
---|---|
KES 5,000 | KES 2,000 |