SMS
Smartphone or basic phone, data or no data. Hova sends your texts to MTN, Telecel and AirtelTigo numbers under your business name, and tells you which ones arrived.
Send to one person, or to everyone.
From the dashboard on your computer or phone, from your own software, or through the API.
- One message
- Type a number and a message and send. Good for a quick reply to one customer.
- A whole list
- Paste numbers, pick a saved group, or upload Excel or CSV. Bad numbers, duplicates and people who opted out are taken off before you're charged, and you see how many before you send.
- Personal to each person
- Put {{first_name}}, {{amount}} or {{ref_no}} in the message and each person gets their own details from your file.
- Later
- Pick a date and time. Campaigns can be cancelled until they start.
- With help writing
- Describe the message in your own words and Hova drafts it to fit one SMS, in English, Twi, Ga, Ewe, Hausa or Pidgin. No extra charge.
Your name on every message.
A sender name is the up-to-11-character name customers see instead of a phone number, like YOUR-SHOP or STMARYS. People open texts from a name they know.
- No documents to apply. Type the name and a line about what you'll send.
- Documents only if a network asks. We tell you exactly what's needed and help with the letter.
- Send today. Use HOVA-INFO while your name is being approved.
- Up to 10 names on one account, for different branches or brands.
How long can a text be?
- Plain letters and numbers
- 160 characters in one SMS. Longer messages are split into parts of 153.
- Emoji, ₵ or other special characters
- 70 characters in one SMS, then parts of 67. Write GHS instead of ₵ to keep a message in one SMS.
- How you're charged
- Per SMS part. A 200-letter message to 100 people uses 200 SMS: GH₵6.40.
The dashboard counts as you type, so you see the parts and the cost before you send.
Know what arrived.
Each number gets its own delivery report from the network: delivered, failed, or still waiting. Reports stay in your dashboard for a year, and developers can receive them on their own server the moment they arrive.
Promotional messages carry a short link to opt out. People who use it are skipped next time, so you don't pay to text people who asked you to stop.
- Your software sends to
- https://api.mnotify.com/api/sms/quick
- Change it to
- https://api.hovagh.com/compat/mnotify/api/sms/quick
In your Hova dashboard, open Connect software and choose mNotify. Hova gives you this address and a key to paste where the mNotify ones went. Hova accepts the same requests and answers the way mNotify does, so nothing else in your software changes.
Questions
Can customers reply to my texts?
Not to a sender name. Phones can't reply to a name like YOUR-SHOP. If you need replies, put a phone number or WhatsApp line in the message.
How long does a sender name take?
Most are approved as they are, without documents. Some brand names need the networks to agree, which takes longer. If a network asks for a letter or registration, we tell you exactly what's needed. Meanwhile you can send as HOVA-INFO.
Which numbers can I send to?
Any MTN, Telecel and AirtelTigo mobile number in Ghana. Numbers can be written as 024…, 233… or +233…; Hova fixes the format.
What can't I send?
Messages to people who haven't agreed to hear from you, scams, or anything misleading. Accounts that send spam are suspended, because it gets sender names blocked for everyone.
What happens if a message fails?
Its delivery report says it failed. Messages Hova couldn't hand to the network are refunded to your wallet automatically.