Which messaging use cases is CloudTalk unable to support?
Due to local country operators, there are some types of messaging traffic that CloudTalk and our underlying SMS/MMS operators are not able to support on United States or Canadian phone numbers.
These are forbidden use cases determined by USA operators and CTIA, which CloudTalk is not able to influence
High-risk or predatory financial services:
Payday loans
Short-term, high-interest rates loans
Third-party loans (e.g., auto, mortgage) - "Third-party" means originating from any party other than the one which will service the loan. First party loan content is acceptable if it is not promotional messaging.
Student loans
New loan soliciting
Cryptocurrency
Stocks and investing platforms
No businesses that solely operate in stocks, investing, or cryptocurrency are allowed to send SMS traffic.
Third-party lead generation services:
Companies engaged in the buying, selling, or sharing of consumer information
Companies, NGOs or political campaigns that buy, sell, or share consumer information
Affiliate lending
Affiliate marketing
Deceptive marketing
Third-party debt collection or forgiveness:
"Third-party" means originating from any party other than the one who is owed the debt. For example, a hospital could send messages regarding bills for its own patients, assuming they provided opt-in to receive that messaging.
Debt consolidation, debt reduction and credit repair programs are prohibited regardless if there is first-party consent.Services offered by third-party entities for debt collection or forgiveness
Debt consolidation services
Debt reduction services
Credit repair programs
"Get rich quick" schemes:
Deceptive work-from-home programs
Risky investment opportunities
Pyramid schemes
Mystery Shopping
Multi Level Marketing (MLM)
Federally Illegal substances/articles:
Cannabis (United States)
CBD (United States)
Fireworks
Kratom
Vape/E-cigs
Prescription drugs:
Drugs that require a prescription
Offers for drugs that cannot be sold over the counter in the US/Canada
Gambling:
Casino apps
Gambling and Booking websites
Betting or Sports Picks
Sweepstakes
Raffles
Gambling traffic on all number types (Toll-Free and Local Numbers) in the US and Canada
"S.H.A.F.T." use cases:
Content containing explicit sexual material
Hate speech
Promotion of alcohol
Promotion of firearms
Promotion of tobacco and vaping products (allowed on local numbers with age-gating procedures)
Any sort of illegal or fraudulent use:
Messaging that promotes illegal activities.
Messaging that solicits or promotes scams or fraud.
Messaging that violates any applicable laws or regulations.
Why are CBD and THC-related use cases forbidden if they are legal in my state/country?
USA
Even though some states have legalized cannabis, federal laws still consider it illegal, so telecom operators adopt a very strict approach to messaging content. Similarly, certain states in the US also prohibit the sale of CBD products. CloudTalk's operators Messaging Policy aligns with US carrier regulations in this regard, and there are no exceptions to this policy.
Canada
In Canada, cannabis and CBD are not considered illicit substances. Therefore, messaging related to age-restricted content, including cannabis, is generally allowed. However, it is crucial to have proper age-verification measures in place for compliance purposes.
*Please note that cannabis and CBD-related messaging is prohibited on Toll-Free Numbers in Canada, so you will need to do this messaging on a local number.
Are there any alternatives, if one of these is my use case?
If your messaging use case is on the forbidden list for SMS and MMS in the US and Canada, don't worry! You can still use CloudTalk to reach your recipients on a call.
Voice operators in the USA do not have the same limitations as SMS operators, so these use cases are not prohibited with calling and voice traffic!