Switzerland Web-Initiated Subscriptions

Switzerland Web-Initiated Subscriptions

This document is designed to help you integrate web-initiated subscriptions into your application. Before you begin, you will need to contact MessageCloud's support team via help@messagecloud.com to register your keyword.

Overview

The below diagram shows the expected flow of messages in the process.

1. The customer visits the merchant's website and enters their MSISDN.
2. The merchant sends a free double opt-in message to the customer via MessageCloud, containing the price, length and the interval of the subscription (see Message Requirements below).
3. The customer replies to the double opt-in message with START ABO.
4. MessageCloud forwards this message to the merchant who should then send a welcome message confirming the subscription activation (see Message Requirements below).
5. The merchant can then send chargeable MT messages to the customer via MessageCloud at the subscription interval defined in the welcome message, using the service name as part of the id parameter. For example, id=myservice|12346765432345.
6. MessageCloud notifies the merchant of charging success or failure with a delivery report.
7. The customer can opt out of the subscription by sending STOP.
8. A notification of opt-out is sent to the merchant.
9. The merchant sends a free confirmation of opt-out message to the customer (see Message Requirements below).

Message Requirements

There are strict rules regarding the messages that will be sent to the customer during the subscription process. On Sunrise you can only send one message per billing period, for example in a weekly subscription you can only send one billed message per month. However, on Salt and Swisscom you can send multiple messages per week.

Opt-in Confirmation Message

Before the activation of the subscription, the customer must be sent a free notification — or double opt-in request — with the following information:

• Price per message and content delivery frequency.
• How to unsubscribe from the service.
• If the service is wap push, a warning that GPRS is charged separately for data transfer.
• If the service is for adults only (18+).
• A customer care phone number and your company name.

For example, an opt-in confirmation message for non-adult subscription services might look like the following:

“Bitte bestätige das Abo mit [response] an [shortcode]. [price] CHF+GPRS Geb. [number_of_sms] SMS/Tag. Abmelden: STOP [keyword] an [shortcode]. Hotline: [hotline_number].”

This translates to:

“Please confirm subscription with [response] to [shortcode]. [price] CHF+GPRS Geb. [number_of_sms] SMS/day. Unsubscribe: STOP [keyword] to [shortcode]. Hotline: [hotline_number].”

And an opt-in confirmation message for adult subscription services might look like the following:

“Bestätige das Abo mit [response] an [shortcode]. [price] CHF+GPRS Geb. [number_of_sms] SMS/Tag. Abmelden: STOP [keyword] an [shortcode]. Hotline: [hotline_number]. Ab 18J.”

This translates to:

“Confirm subscription with [response] to [shortcode]. [price] CHF+GPRS Geb. [number_of_sms] SMS/day. Unsubscribe: STOP [keyword] to [shortcode]. Hotline: [hotline_number]. Over 18 years.”

Welcome Messages

Once the customer has confirmed their intention to start the subscription service, you must send them a free welcome message with the following details:

• Price per message and content delivery frequency.
• How to unsubscribe from the service.
• A customer care phone number and your company name.

For example, a welcome message might look like the following:

“Wilkommen im Horoskop SMS Abo! 5 mal pro Woche bekommst du SMS mit deinem täglichen Horoskop! Abmelden mit STOP HOROSKOP an xxx. CHF 3.00/sms“. [hotline].

This translates to:

“Welcome to Horoskop SMS subscription! You will receive SMS with your daily Horoskop 5 times per week! Unsubscribe with STOP HOROSKOP to XXX. CHF 3.00/sms ”.[hotline]

Content Messages

All billed subscription messages must end with instructions informing the customer how they can opt out of the service. For example:

"[your_content_message]. STOP:  [shortcode]"

Alternatively, you can send a separate free message to the customer with these details.

Opt-out Messages

When the customer has sent STOP to opt out of your subscription service, you must send them a free notification to confirm their action. For example:

"Du bist vom SMS Abo jetzt abgemeldet”

In addition to this text, you may also advertise other services that the customer may find interesting in the same message.

Integration Details

The following section details how you can achieve the MO-initiated subscription model using Gateway.

Sending Free Notification Messages

You should send a request to Gateway using the parameters listed on Sending a Message. You should receive a SUCCESS in the body of the HTTP response if everything was successful. There are three different types of notification message you must send:

• Opt-in Confirmation – When the customer initially enters their number into the merchant website, you must send them a double opt-in message allowing them to confirm their intention to start a subscription service by replying with START ABO.
• Welcome message – When the customer has confirmed their intention to start the subscription you must send them a welcome message with details of the subscription service.
• Opt-out Confirmation – When the customer opts out of your subscription service, you will be sent an MO containing the word STOP according to the information provided on Stop Requests. You must then confirm the opt-out with a free notification message.

Sending a Subscription Content Message

Now that the welcome message is sent to the customer, you can send your subscription content messages according to your agreed subscription interval. In addition to the parameters listed in Sending a Message, the following parameters should also be set:

Technical flow for Swisscom Users

1. The user enters their number into a number entry field.
2. The user is sent a free message asking them to reply with START ABO [KEYWORD]. This message must be sent through Gateway with the network parameter set to SWISSCOM6CH4. An example message is given below.
3. The user must reply with START ABO [KEYWORD]
4. The user is then sent the welcome message. When sending this message you MUST again use the network SWISSCOM6CH4. The format of the id string should be [message_id]|[your_callback_id], where [message_id] is the value of id you received in the opt-in MO and [your_callback_id] is the ID of the message in your platform. An example of this message is given below.
5. Bill the user as you have been doing previously where the format of the should be [service name]|[your_callback_id] and the network ID must again be SWISSCOM6CH.

When requesting the MO opt-in, the following message should be used as a template:

Bitte bestätige das Abo mit START ABO {keyword} an {shortcode}. {Tariff} CHF + GPRS Geb. {amount} SMS / Woche. Abmelden: STOP an {shortcode}. Hotline: 08********"

When sending a welcome message to the end user, the following message should be used as a template:

Wilkommen im {service name} SMS Abo! {Amount of messages} mal pro Woche bekommst du SMS mit {description}. Abmelden mit STOP an {shortcode}. {Tariff} CHF / woche.