Mitto, a leading provider of global omnichannel communications solutions, today announced the addition of Verified SMS by Google to the Mitto platform. The feature is aimed at helping businesses strengthen their conversations with users, build trust, and prevent scams. With Verified SMS, brands can leverage sender authentication and branding features to deliver highly secure, trustworthy SMS customer communications.

As more businesses digitize their customer communication channels and deploy SMS-based marketing, these interactions are left vulnerable to bad actors seeking to exploit SMS’ 98% open rate. Nearly 50 million people are expected to opt into business SMS messages in 2020, as more brands move toward mobile communication technologies, creating more opportunities for fraud or scams. Verified SMS by Google enables brands to make stronger connections with their customers and help protect them from unwanted, unsolicited and insecure texts.

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“The power of SMS for increasing customer engagement is undeniable, but as with any digital link to end users, it can be a target for fraud,” said Andrea Giacomini, CEO of Mitto. “With Verified SMS we can enable this messaging technique for our customers, reduce threats and allow them to optimize this valuable communication channel even further.”

Verified SMS by Google works by authenticating, on a per-message basis, the content that is sent by a business. When a message is verified, consumers using Google’s Messages app see the sender’s business name, their logo, and a verification badge in the message thread. Verified SMS allows brands to send shipping updates, travel confirmations, finance alerts, and more in a secure way that gives customers confidence they are conversing and transacting with a verified source.

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“Trust plays an increasingly critical role in the relationship between brands and their consumers, and becomes unstable when the communication channels between the two are compromised,” said Courtney Munroe, Research Vice President of Worldwide Telecommunications Research, IDC. “The addition of verified SMS to Mitto’s platform is an important step in building an enhanced and reliable portfolio. ”

“We’re pleased to have Mitto support Verified SMS by Google, which helps consumers confirm the true identity of the business that’s texting them,” said Andreas Nita, Global Partnerships at Google. “With Verified SMS, we’re aiming to provide a more safe and trustworthy messaging experience.”