We have recently seen false claims suggesting that customers topped up their eSMS Africa accounts, tested their traffic successfully, and that we then failed to provide the agreed services. That is not an accurate representation of what happened in the cases being discussed, and we want to set the record straight for our partners, our operators and the wider market.

How our process actually works

Our process is deliberate and consistent for every customer:

  • Onboarding - customers are onboarded against a declared traffic type and use case, such as one-time passwords, transactional alerts, or opted-in marketing.
  • Testing and approval - traffic is tested and approved against that declaration before it goes live.
  • Monitoring - live traffic is then continuously monitored against the agreed traffic type and our Acceptable Use Policy.

Approval of a test is exactly that: approval of the traffic that was tested. It is not permission to change the nature of that traffic afterwards.

What happened in the cases being discussed

In the cases in question, accounts were onboarded and their initial tests were approved. A short while later, that same traffic changed: the accounts began sending spam, phishing, fraudulent or otherwise prohibited messages through our direct African routes, after their approved tests.

When that happens, we act immediately. We may suspend or permanently terminate the affected API credentials, SMPP connections and accounts to protect our operator relationships, our infrastructure and, most importantly, the African mobile subscribers who receive these messages. For spam, phishing or fraud, that action can be immediate and without prior notice. Protecting the network from abuse does not wait.

Why we take this seriously

Abusive traffic is not a victimless issue. Phishing and fraudulent SMS target real people across Africa. They also damage the operator relationships that every legitimate customer on our platform depends on, and they can result in fines, penalties and route suspensions that affect the whole ecosystem. We have been directly affected by this kind of abuse, and we are not willing to pass that cost on to the businesses that use our routes responsibly.

Protecting Africa's messaging ecosystem is not a slogan for us. It is the reason our operator partners trust our traffic, and the reason our long-standing customers can rely on us to deliver.

Terms, violations and refunds

Our terms are clear and are published in full. Where an account is suspended or terminated for a violation of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy, any remaining balance is forfeited and is non-refundable.

This is not a penalty invented after the fact. It is a documented condition of using the platform. A termination for sending prohibited traffic is a consequence of the customer's own breach of the agreed terms - it is not a failure by eSMS Africa to provide services, and it does not entitle the account to a refund. Where abusive traffic causes us to incur operator fines or penalties, the responsible account is also liable for those costs.

To our legitimate customers and partners

This is not about preventing legitimate businesses from reaching their customers. If you work with eSMS Africa within the agreed traffic policies, you can expect us to do everything we can to deliver your traffic reliably across Africa, and to support you as we have for years. Our long-standing partners know the service, the infrastructure and the support we provide.

For anyone who knowingly attempts to use our infrastructure for spam, phishing or fraudulent messaging: our routes are not available for that purpose, and access can be terminated immediately.

We take our operator relationships seriously. We take our customers seriously. And we take abuse seriously.

eSMS Africa - Simple. Fast. Direct.

Read our Acceptable Use Policy, Terms of Service and Compliance framework. To report abusive or fraudulent messages from our network, contact abuse@esmsafrica.io.