Definition
Transactional SMS is a non-marketing message triggered by a customer’s action or account event, such as an OTP, order confirmation, delivery update or payment alert.
Transactional messages are expected by the recipient and time-sensitive. Many regulators and operators therefore treat them differently from promotional SMS, for example allowing sending outside promotional hours.
The distinction is about content, not the sender’s intention. Adding an offer to an order confirmation can turn it into promotional content under many rules.
Operationally, keep transactional traffic on separate sender IDs, routes or priorities so it is never delayed behind a bulk campaign.
In GCC markets, transactional and promotional SMS often use different sender ID registrations; confirm the categories with your provider for each country.
Example
Order #10482 has shipped and will arrive on 12 Oct. Track it at acme.example/t/10482