Due Diligence

Last updated: 29 October 2026

1. Why we check

Text messages are trusted, which makes them attractive to fraudsters. Scam texts that pretend to come from banks, delivery firms or government bodies cause real harm. UK messaging network providers and SMS aggregators expect the platforms they work with to know who their customers are.

This Due Diligence Policy explains how Orbis Digital Ltd checks the businesses that use Orbis SMS and the sender IDs they use, before and after they start sending. It sits alongside our Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy and Anti-Spam Policy. Our checks help protect recipients, networks and honest customers. They do not make us responsible for your messages: you remain responsible for complying with the law.

2. Account verification

Orbis SMS is only for businesses, sole traders acting in the course of business, charities and public bodies. Account holders must be 18 or over. When you open an account, we check:

• Business identity: your legal name, trading name, type of organisation and business address.
• Companies House: for companies and LLPs, that your company number, name and registered office match the Companies House register and that the company is active. For charities, we may check the relevant charity register.
• Website and domain: that your website is genuine, matches your business and is consistent with the email domain you registered with.
• Contact details: that your email address and phone number are real and belong to your business. We verify your email address before you can use the portal.
• Intended use: what kind of messages you intend to send (for example, appointment reminders, one-time passcodes or marketing), who your recipients are, how you obtained their numbers, and the volumes you expect.

We may ask for documents to support what you tell us, such as proof of your business address, a certificate of incorporation, a licence or registration, or examples of your consent wording. We may also ask for identification for the person opening the account. If we cannot verify the information, we will not approve the account.

3. Manual approval of accounts and sender IDs

Every new account is reviewed by a member of our team before it can send messages. No account decision is made by automated means alone.

Every alphanumeric sender ID must also be requested in the portal and approved before use. We check that the name:

• is your own business name, trading name or brand, or one you are authorised to use;
• does not impersonate, or could not be confused with, another organisation;
• is not protected on the MEF SMS SenderID Protection Registry, unless you are authorised by its owner; and
• is not generic or misleading, and meets the format rules in our Acceptable Use Policy.

Where the name is not obviously yours, you must prove your right to use it. Suitable evidence includes a Companies House record, a trade mark registration, or a signed letter of authority from the owner of the brand or name, for example where you are an agency sending on a client's behalf under a written agreement with us.

4. Higher-risk sectors

Some sectors need our prior approval and enhanced checks. These include financial services, credit and debt, gambling, alcohol, tobacco and vapes, healthcare and medicines, claims management and political campaigning. The full list is in our Acceptable Use Policy.

Enhanced checks may include:

• confirming your entry on the FCA Register or your Gambling Commission licence;
• reviewing sample messages and the landing pages they link to;
• reviewing your consent wording and how recipients sign up;
• lower starting limits and closer monitoring; and
• periodic re-checks to confirm your licence or authorisation is still valid.

5. Sending limits

New accounts may have daily sending limits. We set them based on risk, taking into account your sector, the type of messages you send and what you told us about volumes. As you build a good sending history, with low complaint, opt-out and failure rates, we may raise your limits. You can ask us to review a limit through a support ticket. We may lower limits at any time if we see signs of risk.

6. Ongoing monitoring

Our checks continue after approval. We monitor:

• Content: every message is automatically screened against risk rules for spam, scams and phishing. Flagged messages may be held for review by our team or blocked.
• Complaints and opt-outs: complaints from recipients, networks or regulators, and the rate at which recipients reply STOP.
• Failure rates: high rates of undelivered or rejected messages, which can point to poor-quality or bought-in lists.
• Changes in behaviour: sudden changes in volume, content, sender IDs or the type of messages sent.

We may ask you to confirm your details are still correct, or for consent records, at any time.

7. Refusal, suspension and closure

We may refuse to open an account or approve a sender ID, suspend sending or an account, or close an account where:

• we cannot verify your identity, business or right to use a name;
• you give us false or misleading information, or do not respond to our requests;
• your intended or actual use breaks our Acceptable Use Policy or Anti-Spam Policy;
• we reasonably suspect spam, fraud, unlawful content, a security risk or non-payment; or
• a network, aggregator or regulator tells us to.

Where there is a risk to recipients or networks, we may act immediately and without notice. A human always reviews account decisions. What happens to unused credits is explained in the Terms.

8. Record-keeping

We keep records of the checks we carry out, the information and documents you give us, and our decisions. We keep account records for the life of the account and then delete or anonymise them within 12 months after it closes, unless we need to keep them longer for legal reasons. Security and audit logs are kept for up to 12 months.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle the personal data we collect during these checks, including your rights.

9. Cooperation with networks, regulators and law enforcement

We work with the UK messaging network providers and SMS aggregators we use to prevent fraud and spam. We may share information about your account, sender IDs and messages with them, with the ICO (or its successor, the Information Commission), the FCA, the Gambling Commission and other regulators, and with the police, where this is needed to investigate or prevent fraud or misuse, or where the law requires it.

10. Contact

Questions about our checks, or about evidence for a sender ID, can be sent to support@orbisdigital.co.uk or by calling 0330 223 7919.