MaaP (Messaging as a Platform)

MaaP (Messaging as a Platform) is the Universal Profile layer that makes business messaging possible in RCS. It carries application-to-person messaging, chatbots and rich cards. Introduced with Universal Profile 2.0 (2017), MaaP is the layer through which businesses and automated services talk to users in the native messaging app.

What is MaaP (Messaging as a Platform)?

MaaP, short for Messaging as a Platform, is the platform layer within the Universal Profile that opens RCS beyond pure person-to-person communication. MaaP is the layer that enables application-to-person messaging (A2P): businesses, chatbots and automated services can use it to communicate with users in the native messaging app. MaaP was introduced with Universal Profile 2.0 in 2017.

Role in the RCS ecosystem

MaaP carries RCS Business Messaging (RBM) and with it the features brands need for interactive, branded conversations:

  • A2P messaging: the path by which applications and services send messages to users, not only person-to-person.
  • Chatbots: automated dialogues directly in the messaging app, for example for order status or simple requests.
  • Rich Cards: cards with image, title, text and tappable buttons as the building blocks of the conversation.

This makes MaaP the part of the standard that turns RCS into something usable for business.

How MaaP differs from the Universal Profile and hubs

The three terms separate cleanly: the Universal Profile is the overarching specification that defines which features RCS must support. MaaP is a layer defined within it, namely the platform tier for business messaging and RBM. Infrastructure hubs (such as the Google-operated service Jibe) are the actual operation: the cloud that hosts RCS and RBM traffic for mobile operators. In short: the Universal Profile says what must be possible, MaaP defines the business-messaging layer, and a hub runs the technology behind it.

MaaP and SendSeven

SendSeven is a unified messaging platform for WhatsApp, SMS, email, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and live chat. RCS, including the MaaP layer behind it, is planned as a future channel; SMS is already a core part of the platform and covers direct mobile delivery. Every channel comes together in one central inbox, GDPR-compliant, EU-hosted and built in Germany.