Sending messages in Rasayily relies on connection providers — the services that actually deliver the message to the recipient, whether over WhatsApp or SMS. This article explains exactly how this works in Rasayily today, based on what's actually implemented.
What is a Provider, and Why Do We Need One?
Rasayily doesn't send messages directly by itself — it connects to an external service (a provider) capable of delivering the message over the requested channel. That's why the platform supports more than one channel: WhatsApp, SMS, Email, and Push notifications, each with one or more providers that can be connected.
WhatsApp Connection Methods: Official vs. Unofficial
- Official connection via Meta (Cloud API): the officially approved path from WhatsApp/Meta, relying on pre-approved message templates (Meta Templates) before sending marketing or utility messages.
- Unofficial connection via QR code: a regular WhatsApp number is linked to the platform by scanning a QR code on the connection page, creating a session whose status (connected / disconnected) can be monitored, restarted, or disconnected from that same page.
These are managed from the WhatsApp connection page.
Can You Use More Than One Provider?
Yes. The platform maintains a list of connection providers that can be extended purely through data — meaning adding a new instance of a provider type already supported by the system doesn't require a code change, just connection configuration. Each provider has its own priority, authentication settings, and rate limits. On the SMS channel specifically, the provider list available from the API settings page includes real, named providers such as Twilio, Vonage, Plivo, Infobip, Telnyx, Sinch, Bird, ClickSend, Unifonic, and Taqnyat — Twilio has a fully custom integration in the code, while the rest connect through a shared generic connector.
Can Each Feature Use a Different Provider?
Yes, and this is a real, implemented capability. A given feature (like auto-reply, customer service, or store notifications) can be linked to a specific provider at the store level or at the whole-company level from the feature-provider mapping settings page; if no specific mapping exists, the default active provider is used.
Campaigns don't go through this feature-mapping screen — they have their own independent provider strategy set within each campaign's configuration (see the next section).
Campaigns specifically support three provider strategies at send time: using the default provider, pinning one specific provider, or rotating across several providers.
Provider Failover: What Happens If a Provider Goes Down?
When sending campaign messages, the system checks whether the assigned provider is ready before sending each message. If the primary provider isn't ready (down or unresponsive), the system automatically switches to another active provider without any manual action from you, and actually sends the message through it — this is Provider Failover. This behavior is actively used during campaign message sending.
This automatic switch only happens at the pre-send readiness check. If a provider passes that check but the send attempt itself then fails (an error from the provider during sending), the system does not automatically retry with a different provider for that same message — it's marked as failed directly instead, to avoid the risk of the same message reaching the customer twice if the provider had actually received it before the error appeared (e.g., a connection drop). Company owners and admins can review every automatic provider switch — when it happened and why — from the "Failover Events" screen in the dashboard.
Provider Failover vs. Channel Fallback
These are two different concepts and shouldn't be confused:
- Provider Failover: switching between multiple providers for the same channel (e.g., from WhatsApp provider A to WhatsApp provider B) when one fails.
- Channel Fallback: switching from one channel to a completely different channel (e.g., from WhatsApp to SMS) when delivery through the primary channel fails.
The fallback channel is set at the campaign-configuration level when creating a campaign from the campaigns page. When a message fails through the primary channel (after a real send attempt through that channel's available provider), the system immediately and automatically sends a new message to the same recipient through the fallback channel, using the same provider-selection logic described above — including that fallback channel's own Provider Failover if it has more than one provider.
Make sure you have an active provider for the fallback channel itself (e.g., an active SMS provider if your fallback channel is SMS) before relying on it, and check the campaign's message log for the "Fallback Message" column to see which messages were the result of a channel switch — especially if the fallback channel requires its own credit or plan.
Practical Summary
In short: Rasayily lets you connect more than one provider per channel and automatically picks a backup provider if the primary one fails (Failover), and also lets you define an entirely different fallback channel at the campaign level if the primary channel fails (Fallback). To see the rest of the platform's capabilities, see Why Rasayily, and to get started from scratch see the complete Rasayily user guide.
FAQ
Can I use WhatsApp without Meta? Yes, via the QR-code connection method as an unofficial alternative.
What happens if the provider I use goes down? If you have more than one active provider, the system automatically switches to the next one when sending campaign messages.
Can I use SMS as a backup for WhatsApp? Yes, by setting SMS as the fallback channel when creating a campaign, provided you have an active SMS provider.
