Feature Updates 11/15/2022

IMPORTANT - Twilio Now Strongly Recommends Registering all 10-Digit Phone Numbers to Avoid Carrier Surcharges by December 15th. Discounts Available to 501(c)3

If you are a church administrator, chances are that you have received many Twilio email notifications over the last few years about phone number registration requirements. OnlineGiving.org has been integrated with Twilio since 2014 and has noticed upstream cell phone carriers increasing pressure on Twilio to create a registration method to reduce spam and allow for real business to be verified.

We don't blame you if you find these email notifications overcomplex and confusing. In our opinion, anytime you have multiple cellphone carriers involved, things tend to get overcomplex in design and naming to the point of confusion. For example, "A2P 10DLC", "Direct Brand A2P 10DLC," or "US A2P brand", etc.

So what's the deal with these A2P requirements Twilio emails us about frequently?

Twilio has been working with cell phone carriers over the last few years to lower spam while still allowing legit text message traffic to be sent at a high threshold. For those who don't know, Twilio is the global leader in programmable voice and text message communication services and is used by nearly every text message-enabled technology business in America. It's used for all digital communication systems, such as touch-tone and text messages. Twilio also reached out into the email industry and purchased SendGrid. They are a global leader in digital communication services, allowing platforms to integrate and provide communication services that engage users personally.

From the church perspective, nearly all ChMS providers use it for messaging, and OnlineGiving.org uses it for its text-giving, text marketing, and chatbot solutions. We genuinely don't believe Twilio is at the core of the A2P craziness, as doing so would harm profitability. Instead, all of the new registration items over the last couple of years appear to result from Twilio working with cellphone carriers to find a compromise that would allow legitimate traffic to continue while cracking down on spam/fraud. Message filtering on the cell phone carrier level is real and can sometimes be unfavorable to the Christian church realm.

Our take on the Twilio registration updates is that it's providing a method for legitimate traffic to provide documentation to carriers that they are real and have valid reasons to communicate with users, which allows those who are registered to obtain less filtering and higher throughput rates (depending on the number and registration).

All of this is to let you know that while the naming of Twilio's registration is confusing, there may be some good purpose behind it. OnlineGiving.org started reporting about the new registrations in 2021, and we are continuing to give you a secondary heads-up about what Twilio has already been notifying your team about.

The latest recommendations from Twilio state that all 10-digit phone numbers are now strongly recommended to complete the "Direct Standard Registration" known as "US A2P 10DLC". For your convenience, we've included a link to Twilio's latest help guide for completing the direct standard registration below.

Twilio's Guide to Completing the Direct Standard Registration

https://www.twilio.com/docs/sms/a2p-10dlc/onboarding

Important Notes:

Please pay special attention to the "Registration for non-profits" section of the guide linked above as it pertains directly to Churches and Ministries.
When registering a Twilio.com campaign, we strongly suggest that the church put the purpose for application to end-user communications such as sending out one-time login or registration codes, sending church updates/notifications, or similar. It may be possible to be discriminated against as a church if giving is mentioned, as Twilio has been known not fully to understand text giving in the church realm.

Is there any silver lining to this process?

Yes, according to Twilio, the registration process should allow for less filtering, and qualified non-profits may automatically receive a discount on services by registering -

"Registering as a non-profit will ensure that you are able to qualify for special use cases that are reserved for non-profit entities. These special use cases offer additional pricing and/or throughput benefits. When registering your brand with the Non-Profit company type, TCR will automatically perform vetting to confirm the specific non-profit tax status of your organization: for example, 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4). The specific 501c status will have an impact on which campaign use cases your non-profit will qualify for." - Twilio

Copy of Email Notification from Twilio Sent out to 10-Digit Phone Number Admins

[Action Required] Register your 10DLC numbers to avoid unregistered fees: Deadline November 17, 2022