STRAX Reach · SMS, email and voice
Two-way SMS through SMSPortal
SMSPortal is a familiar gateway for South African businesses. Reach sends through its REST API and files every reply against the client who wrote it.
- SMSPortal REST API
- Secret reply header
- Test mode per environment
Local SMS with replies that reach a person
Reach sends each message through SMSPortal's bulk messages endpoint with your API key and secret. The Reach message id travels as the SMSPortal customer id, so a reply can be traced back to the exact message it answers.
Replies arrive through an SMSPortal webhook that you create in the portal, with a custom header carrying a secret you choose. Reach checks the header, matches the number to a client and files the reply in their conversation.
A test mode setting lets staging validate every send against SMSPortal without delivering anything, which keeps rehearsal runs away from real clients. SMSPortal also reports opt-out keywords, and Reach notes them on the run so your team can act.
Where it helps
Prepaid airtime and data receipts
Confirm a bundle purchase by SMS and let the client reply if the bundle never arrived.
Premium reminders
Remind funeral cover and insurance clients before a premium is collected, with replies going to your service desk.
Branch appointment follow-up
Text a client after a branch visit and route any complaint they send back to the branch manager.
One-time PIN questions
When a client replies to an OTP message saying they never asked for it, the fraud team sees it at once.
What you need
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An SMSPortal account
With a REST API key, and a number or short code that accepts replies.
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The client id and API secret
Stored in the STRAX credential vault and sent as basic authentication.
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A public HTTPS domain
SMSPortal only posts webhooks to HTTPS addresses on a domain name, never to an IP address.
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Reach Core
The contacts, conversations and console behind the SMS channel.
Good to know
SMSPortal tests a webhook address before it saves it, so deploy the inbound workflow on its public address first. Replies reach Reach only when the webhook is linked to the same API key that sends.
Questions
Which number do clients reply to?
The account default number, unless you configure an approved sender id. Alphanumeric sender ids cannot receive replies.
How do we test without sending?
Leave test mode on for staging. SMSPortal validates the request and returns a result, and no message leaves the gateway.
What does the reply webhook send?
You define its JSON template in the portal. The package README gives the exact template Reach expects, using SMSPortal's own variable names.
Are delivery reports recorded?
This version records sends and replies. Delivery reports are a planned addition.
Read more
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The whole Reach family →
Reach Core and every channel package, with what each one needs.
Add SMSPortal to Reach
Tell us which channels your clients use and we will plan the rollout with your team.
Premium Requires STRAX Reach - Core, which is licensed.
About this listing
| Version | 1.0.0 |
| Author | STRAX |
| Category | Communication |
| Published | 2026-09-24 |
What's inside
| Credential | 2 |
| Global variable | 2 |
| Workflow | 2 |
What happens on install
After the import, and only with your consent, the installer runs:
- Reach - Register Channel : Registers the SMSPortal channel with Reach Core, disabled until its credentials are entered
Free listing
Install it from Feature Marketplace inside STRAX
It builds on STRAX Reach - Core, a premium package. Ask us for a quote to license it first.
Open Feature Marketplace
In your STRAX installation, open Feature Marketplace from the navigation.
Find "STRAX Reach - SMSPortal"
Search or browse to this listing and review the contents disclosure; every package shows what it contains before anything runs.
Install
Choose Install, or "Customise with AI" to adapt the package to your environment first. No licence is needed for free listings.
SMSPortal is a trademark of its owner, named here only to identify the service this package connects to.
See it on your own systems.
A demo takes an hour, on your data landscape rather than ours.