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Welcome to Lunyazi

What Lunyazi is, what problems it solves, and what this guide will help you achieve.

Lunyazi is a prepaid business communications platform that lets you send SMS messages and OTP verification codes to your customers, members, or users, through a simple dashboard or API.

What problems does Lunyazi solve?

• Send SMS to many people at once: reminders, notifications, alerts.
• Verify phone numbers or identities using one-time codes (OTP).
• Reach Eswatini and international numbers from one account.
• Automate recurring messages without building complex infrastructure.

What this guide covers

By the end of this guide you will be able to:

• Recharge your account with credits
• Set up your Sender ID
• Send your first SMS
• Integrate OTP verification into your application
• Reach production without needing to contact support

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Getting Started

A step-by-step onboarding journey from login to your first production message.

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Credits & Billing

How credits work, the two credit pools, how to recharge, and purchase history.

Lunyazi uses a credit system. You buy credits in advance and spend them when you send messages.

Two credit pools

How to recharge

1. Go to Billing in the sidebar.
2. Select Eswatini (+268) or International.
3. Enter the quantity of credits you need.
4. Review the total: pricing is tiered by volume.
5. Enter your MTN MoMo number and click Pay with MoMo.
6. Approve the payment prompt on your phone.
7. Credits appear in your balance instantly once payment is confirmed.

Purchase history

Scroll to the bottom of the Billing page to see your full purchase history: date, pool, credits, and payment status for each transaction.

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Sender IDs

What a Sender ID is, why it matters, how to request one, and common mistakes to avoid.

A Sender ID is the name or number that appears on your recipient's phone when they receive your message.

Why it matters

• A recognised Sender ID improves open rates: recipients know who sent the message.
• Without a custom Sender ID, messages arrive from a generic number.
• A branded Sender ID looks professional and builds trust with your audience.

How to request a Sender ID

1. Contact Lunyazi support via email at sales@lunyazi.com or WhatsApp.
2. Provide the name you want to use (max 11 characters, letters and numbers only), a short description of your use case, and your business website.
3. Allow 1–2 business days for activation.
4. Once activated, all your outgoing messages will show your Sender ID.

Sender ID rules

• Maximum 11 characters
• Letters and numbers only, no spaces or special characters
• Must represent your organisation or brand
• Cannot impersonate another organisation

Common mistakes

• Spaces in the name: use a single word or abbreviation (e.g. MyBusiness not My Business)
• Too long: names over 11 characters are truncated by the carrier
• Sending before activation: messages will show a default sender until your Sender ID is activated

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SMS Messaging

How to send a single message, send in bulk, use test mode, and check delivery status.

Sending a single message

1. Go to SMS in the sidebar.
2. Enter the recipient's phone number in international format (e.g. +26876123456).
3. Type your message.
4. Click Send.

Sending bulk messages

1. On the SMS page, switch to the Bulk tab.
2. Upload a CSV or paste numbers, one per line.
3. Enter your message.
4. Review the recipient count and estimated credit cost.
5. Click Send to all.

Test mode

Enable Test mode on the SMS page to simulate sending without using credits or reaching the carrier. The test number +268000000000 always succeeds.

Delivery status

Go to Reports to check delivery status for each message.

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API Integration

Three ways to connect Lunyazi's SMS API to your own system, and which one to use.

Every integration boils down to one question: what triggers a send, and where does the message wording live? There are three patterns, in increasing order of how well they scale as your system grows.

Option 1: Raw send

Your system builds the full message text itself, every time.

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/sms/send
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "to": "+26876123456",
  "message": "Hi Thabo, your order is ready for collection."
}

Simplest to start with, but any wording change means editing your own code and redeploying. Fine for a single internal tool with one message type.

Option 2: Template by ID

Message wording lives in Lunyazi and can be edited without a redeploy, but your code still needs to know the specific template's ID.

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/sms/send
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "to": "+26876123456",
  "template_id": "tpl_02b4b421",
  "variables": {"name": "Thabo"}
}

Option 3: Event-driven (recommended)

Your system fires a plain event name it already understands from its own business logic, e.g. PAYMENT_RECEIVED or APPLICATION_CONFIRMED. No template IDs, no coupling to Lunyazi's internals. This is the right fit whenever the wording of a message might need to change without a code deploy, which is the common case for most businesses.

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/sms/templates
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "name": "Application Confirmed",
  "event_name": "APPLICATION_CONFIRMED",
  "body": "Hi {{name}}, we've received your application to {{program}}. We'll be in touch soon."
}

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/sms/post
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "event": "APPLICATION_CONFIRMED",
  "to": "+26876123456",
  "data": {"name": "Thabo", "program": "Software Engineering"}
}

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OTP Verification

What OTP is, typical use cases, and how to integrate it into your application in two API calls.

OTP (One-Time Password) lets you verify that a user owns a phone number by sending them a code and checking that they entered it correctly.

Typical use cases

• User registration: confirm the phone number during signup
• Login verification: two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Password reset: verify identity before allowing a reset
• Transaction confirmation: confirm high-value actions
• Membership verification: confirm a member's identity

Integration flow

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/otp/send
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "channel": "sms",
  "recipient": "+26876123456",
  "app_name": "Your App Name"
}

POST https://api.lunyazi.com/otp/verify
X-Api-Key: your_api_key

{
  "otp_id": "otp_abc123",
  "code": "492817"
}

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Secure Share

Send a document that only the intended recipient can open. No account or app required on their side.

Secure Share lets you send a file to someone by phone number, protected behind an SMS one-time code. The recipient cannot download the document until they verify that code, and the document itself is automatically scanned for malware before any download link is ever issued.

Typical use cases

• Sending a signed contract or agreement to a client
• Delivering case files or correspondence that must reach only the named recipient
• Sharing a sensitive report, invoice, or statement outside your organisation
• Any handoff where you need proof the right person actually opened the document

Sending a document

1. Go to Secure Share in the dashboard.
2. Enter the recipient's phone number (required) and, optionally, their email address.
3. Choose a file to upload and set how many days the link should remain valid (1-30 days).
4. Click Create. The recipient is sent a link by SMS immediately, and by email too if you provided one.

What the recipient experiences

Malware scanning

Every uploaded file is scanned automatically before it can ever be downloaded, using Amazon GuardDuty Malware Protection. This happens in the background right after upload and normally finishes within well under a minute.

Limits

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Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues. If your issue is not listed, contact support.

SMS not delivered

OTP code not received

Unable to recharge

API returning 401 Unauthorized

• Your API key may be incorrect. Go to Account and copy it again.
• Ensure you are sending the key as the X-Api-Key header, not in the request body.

API returning 429 Too Many Requests

• You have exceeded the per-minute rate limit. Add a delay between sends or use the bulk send endpoint for large batches.