SMS and WhatsApp Notifications: Settings and Costs
QrX sends messages to consumers over email, SMS, and WhatsApp. This article explains which messages exist, how merchants control them, and who pays for what.
Types of Messages
Payment messages: payment links, PIN codes, and payment confirmations. These are part of the core payment flow.
Verification messages: email or phone verification so payment information reaches the right person.
Track & Trace milestone notifications: optional delivery updates such as shipped, out for delivery, and delivered.
Payment SMS
Payment SMS messages are enabled by default and are required for a reliable payment flow, so they cannot be switched off by the merchant. QrX covers the cost of payment SMS unless your merchant agreement states otherwise.
Track & Trace SMS (Opt-In)
Milestone SMS notifications are off by default. A merchant can enable them per channel in the channel settings. Before enabling, PortalX shows a cost overview: the SMS carrier rate for each destination country plus a QrX platform fee of EUR 0.01 per SMS, together with a volume estimate based on your shipments.
A running "this month" SMS cost card in your settings shows what you have spent so far.
You can set a monthly SMS budget cap in EUR. When the cap is reached, milestone notifications automatically fall back to email for the rest of the month.
The cap never affects payment SMS: those are always delivered.
Door PIN codes are sent by email and SMS. WhatsApp is used for phone verification messages where it is configured (for example the Send WhatsApp verification action under Customer Contacts). WhatsApp delivery updates for Track & Trace are shown as "Coming soon" in the template editor and are not available yet.
Where to Find the Settings
Go to Settings > Merchant Channels, open a channel, stay on the Settings tab and choose SMS in the left menu. There you find the SMS messaging (paid) card:
Payment SMS (phone verification + PIN) is always on and included by QrX at no cost to you, unless your agreement says otherwise.
Track & Trace SMS (delivery updates) is off by default. Switching it on opens "Enable SMS (paid feature)" with the price per SMS for each country plus the QrX platform fee. You confirm with I accept the additional costs.
Monthly spend cap (optional): when reached, Track & Trace SMS pauses and falls back to email. Payment SMS is not affected.
The card shows this month's count and cost and an estimated monthly cost based on the last 30 days.
If you connect your own Bird account (see "Message Templates and Sending from Your Own Accounts"), only the QrX platform fee applies.
If Track & Trace SMS is off, the tracking template editor shows "Track & Trace SMS is off. Enable SMS (paid) in channel settings, or connect your own Bird account."
SMS from Message Centre Conversations
In the Message Centre you can tick Also send as SMS in a conversation with a consumer. The cost is shown before you send, and the SMS is billed to you as the merchant: the carrier cost for the destination country plus the QrX platform fee of EUR 0.01 per SMS. This option is off by default for each sales channel and only QrX can switch it on; ask QrX support if you want to use it. WhatsApp from conversations is not available yet. See "Message Centre for Consumer Support: Bulk Notify, SMS, Translation and Satisfaction Ratings".
Consumer Opt-Out
Consumers can stop delivery-milestone notifications at any time via the unsubscribe link in an email or by replying STOP to an SMS. Payment and PIN messages are part of the payment flow and are always delivered.
When to Contact Our Support Team
Contact QrX support directly if you want to discuss SMS charges on an invoice, if messages are not being delivered across multiple orders, or if you keep receiving messages after unsubscribing. These cases are reviewed by a person.