SMS Sending via Kudosity (previously Burst SMS)

Lend has integrated with Kudosity (previously Burst SMS) via API to send and receive SMS messages.

If you already have a Kudosity account you can enter your API credentials directly into Lend to send messages from your own Virtual Number or Custom Sender ID.

1. Login to Kudosity and go to the Settings page.
   
   
2. Scroll down to the API Settings section and copy your API Key and API Secret.
   
   
3. Now login to your Lend account and go to your Account section and go to the Integrations tab.
   
   
4. Paste your API Key and API Secret into the Burst SMS API settings.
   
   
5. If you have your own Virtual Number or Custom Sender ID in your Kudosity account, you can also enter this into the Sender ID field. Ensure it's the correct Virtual Number or Custom Sender ID that you applied for through Burst SMS.
   • Virtual Number: You can find this in Kudosity in the Senders page. Copy and paste the 11 digit number from your burst sms account without the + symbol. For example: 61412333444
   • Custom Sender ID: You can find this in Kudosity in the Send SMS page in the From dropdown. For example: Lend (read below about Custom Sender ID - clients cannot reply)

If you don't already have a Kudosity account, you can create one here.

More about Virtual Number and Custom Sender ID

When sending SMS messages it's best to use a dedicated Virtual Number that belongs to you, rather than a Shared Number. This is good practice so that your clients and prospects recognise your messages.

Some brokers prefer to use a Custom Sender ID instead of a number. The Sender ID can contain alphabetical characters as well as numeric but must be relevant to your business and you need to apply for one through Kudosity. Once approved it will be attached to your Kudosity account and can be used as the sender information shown on smart phones, instead of a number. Using a Custom Sender ID is optional and is recommended for sending bulk SMS campaigns from your business name. It's not recommended for sending direct messages to clients because they cannot reply.

Learn more about both options here

Learn how to apply for a Custom Sender ID here

SMS Character Limits

A single SMS segment represents a maximum of 160 standard GSM characters. Spaces are also counted as characters. When typing a message, be aware that the longer it gets, the more it costs.

SMS messages over 160 GSM characters are known as long messages. Smartphones and BurstSMS can combine or stitch multiple SMS segments into a single message. This is a concatenated message.

When segments are stitched together, 7 characters are sacrificed per segment to help with concatenation. Therefore, the maximum character count for long messages are:

• 2 message segments: 153+153=306 standard GSM characters
• 3 message segments: 153+153+153=459 standard GSM characters
• 4 message segments: 153+153+153+153=612 standard GSM characters
• and so on...

Standard GSM character set

The standard GSM set contains the most widely used characters in everyday language: all Latin characters (A-Z), digits (0-9), plus a few special characters such as Ö and è. For each standard GSM character typed into a message, a single character space is consumed from the SMS segment.

Extended GSM character set

In addition to standard GSM characters, certain characters from the extended GSM character set, such as € and { symbols, can be used in SMS messages. The 160 segment count remains, however these characters use additional space; x2 spaces per character to be exact.

Unicode (non-standard GSM)

Non-standard GSM characters are referred to as Unicode characters. Unicode provides a set of additional characters, including punctuation marks, mathematical symbols, technical symbols, arrows, and characters making up non-Latin alphabets, such as Thai, Chinese, or Arabic script and Emojis.

While Unicode is supported in SMS messaging, be aware that its usage affects your message length.

Using a single Unicode character in an SMS changes the character encoding to Unicode (UCS-2) and immediately reduces the segment character limit from 160 to 70 characters for a single message.

When messages are stitched together with Unicode characters included, 3 characters are sacrificed per segment. Therefore:

• 2 message segments with Unicode: 67+67=134 characters
• 3 message segments with Unicode: 67+67+67=201 characters
• 4 message segments with Unicode: 67+67+67+67=268 characters
• and so on...

Using Emoji in SMS messages

Emoji use is supported in SMS. All Emojis are treated as Unicode characters, reducing message segments to 70 characters. Older 16-bit Emojis count as a single character count and newer 32-bit emojis count as two characters.