#Carrier Billing

SMS Giving Barometer 2026: a channel that’s here to stay, boosted by the arrival of RCS

12/05/2026

3 min

In 2025, carrier-billed giving continues to find its place in France’s philanthropy landscape. The 2026 Barometer, published by France générosités and af2m and built from data provided by the four mobile operators, including Bouygues Telecom, highlights solid momentum for SMS giving and a game-changing development: integrated payment within the RCS conversational channel.

€1.9 million raised in 2025
214,000 donations made
From 2018–2025, more than €16.4 million raised across more than 2.1 million donations

After two years (2021–2022) when the average gift was around €5, the average basket has risen since 2023 to reach €8.72 in 2025. This increase is partly due to keyword strategies implemented by organizations to offer higher amounts while keeping the trigger simple.

SMS giving aligns with major mobilization campaigns and media moments. In 2025, several peaks shaped the year:

January (e.g., Pièces Jaunes)
March (e.g., Sidaction and “Jonquille”)
June (mobilizations against cancer and campaigns against pet abandonment), which alone accounts for 22% of annual funds raised
September (e.g., World Alzheimer’s Day)

The donation curve directly reflects media coverage of causes and fundraising strategies. This “event-driven” nature makes it a particularly suitable lever for short, high-volume appeals, complementing other digital channels.

Amounts raised in 2025: €36,980, up 54% vs. 2024
3 operators now offer recurring giving on the mobile bill
14 public-interest organizations have deployed this donation method (used as an alternative payment option on-site and to convert SMS donors to recurring)

France is becoming the first country to integrate payment within the RCS channel for one-off and recurring donations, thanks to collaborative work between nonprofits, operators, and an aggregator. In 2025, the first six pilot campaigns show promising signs:

A higher click-through rate than SMS
An average donation between €14 and €15, well above the SMS average (€8.72)

RCS paves the way for richer conversational experiences (visuals, step-by-step flows, in-thread confirmations) without breaking the journey—an advantage for telling the story of the cause, engaging, and converting in the same channel.