Overview

Overview

Communicate freely and effectively with more customers via our Vodacom Communications API.

SMS messages describe a method of communication which is part of our everyday lives. Whether you use these messaging services for marketing, information, events or simply as an easy way to communicate with clients and staff, we have a product that fits you just right.

What is it?

What is it

The Communications API lets you draft and send communications, notifications and instructions to parties, individuals, organisations or users regardless of the South African network provider the recipient is on, and you can receive a delivery receipt.

Message technologies available:

  • Short Message Service (SMS)

Why use it?


Why use it

This API will help you send single notification, and our pricing options are competitive.

Use the Communication APIs messaging services for marketing, information, events or simply as an easy way to communicate with clients and staff. For example, let’s say you own a dental practice or beauty salon. The Communications API can be integrated into your existing system to send appointment reminders to your customers or to send them promotional offers or last-minute availabilities.


Here are more reasons to use our API:
  • Reliable and secure delivery platform for sending notifications to customers.
  • Instant and guaranteed delivery of messages.
  • Competitive pricing and different billing methods.
  • No access fees, hidden costs or set-up costs incurred on this service.
  • Highly accessible anytime with technology that’s compliant with modern business needs.
  • Gives you the ability to send a notification to one cellphone number in each request.
  • Allows a partner to reach their stakeholders even when steady and reliable access is not available to them.
  • The recipient cellphone number is not limited to the Vodacom network.
  • Comprehensive reporting available.

How does it work?

How does it work

The Communcations API allows any application or program type (web, desktop and mobile) to integrate with us via the Internet.

Communications APIs are invisible to the end user and provides a simple solution allowing you to set everything up from one place.


The Communication API is implemented in three easy steps:

Step 1

Set up your
application

Implement the Communications API into your app.

Step 2

Send a notification
request

Create a unique message then share it via one of the available channels.

Step 3

Retrieve notification
information

Retrieve information about notifications that are actually sent to your customers.

Try it out

Check out the methods to test this API by clicking on the “Documentation” tab to get started.
To begin using our APIs in your app, create a free API Pulse account by clicking Register below.

Test API Operations in Postman

View the steps required to test the API operations in Postman using the Postman Collections

Download Postman Collection
  1. Download the Postman Collection
  2. Open the file in Postman
  3. Generate an Access Token
  4. Enable Authorisation in Postman
  5. Start Testing the APIs

1. Download the Postman Collection

Click the Download Postman button at the top of the Documentation page of the relevant product to download the Postman Collection.

A zipped JSON file will be downloaded on to your computer that contains the Postman Collection. Unzip the file and save the contents in a convenient location.

2. Open the file in Postman

Open Postman on your computer and import the JSON file by following these steps:

  1. In Postman, click File > Import
  2. Remaining in the File tab, click Upload Files
  3. Navigate to where you saved the Postman Collection. Select the file and click Open
  4. You will now see a new Collection has been created in your left menu. Click the dropdown arrow to view all the available operations. The Headers, Body and URL will be prepopulated with the required information.

    3. Generate an Access Token

    OAuth 2.0 is an open standard for authorisation and it is used to provide your applications with secure delegated access. OAuth 2.0 works over HTTP and authorises devices, APIs, servers and applications with access tokens rather than credentials.

    Before testing the API you will need to set the authorisation by following these steps:

    1. In Postman, select the OAuth method in the left panel
    2. All necessary fields should be populated for you
    3. Click Send and you should receive a 200 success response
    4. You will see your access token in the access_token key of the JSON object received in the response, as seen in the image below
    5. Copy the access token to authorise your requests

    Please note, the access tokens in the sandbox environments are valid for 24 hours, after which you will have to generate a new access token below to continue testing.

    4. Enable Authorisation in Postman

    You can now use the access token to authorise your requests by following these steps:

    1. In Postman, select the API method you want to test in the left panel
    2. Click the Authorization tab
    3. Paste the copied access token you generated in step 3 in the Token field
    4. Your request will now be authorised

    5. Start Testing the APIs

    You are now ready to begin testing the API methods.

    View the response error details below to understand potential reasons why your request may be failing.

    HTTP Code Description
    401 Invalid or Expired Excess Token
    404 Unauthorized, Failed to Resolve the Request
    429 Rate Limit has been exhausted
    500 Failed to establish the backend connectivity