Gateways Overview
Every way to send with Mersal: personal accounts, sending services, and domains, in one map.
A gateway is any connected method Mersal can send through. Some are official provider APIs, some are personal devices, and some are supporting domain setup rather than sending directly. This page maps out all of them in one place.
Personal accounts
These connect a device you own directly, without going through a provider's business API.
| Gateway | What it does |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp QR / personal device | Link your personal phone's WhatsApp by scanning a QR code, the same way WhatsApp Web works. You can manage the connection, reconnect if it drops, share a connect link, and choose a device name to identify it. |
| Android SIM Gateway | Link a phone (or multiple SIMs) as an SMS gateway, managed through a companion Android bridge app installed on the device. |
Personal-account gateways are the fastest way to start sending real messages — no provider application or approval process required. See the Quick Start for connecting one in a few minutes.
Sending services
These connect official, provider-backed sending infrastructure — the path to take once you're sending at production scale.
| Gateway | What it does |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Cloud API | Connect an official WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) directly with Meta, via embedded signup. |
| SMS API | Add credentials for an external SMS provider to send through their infrastructure. |
| Email / SMTP | Add your SMTP provider's credentials, then confirm the connection with a test send. |
See SMS, WhatsApp, and Email for the full detail on each channel.
Domains
Domains don't send messages themselves, but they control how your Email sending is authenticated and tracked.
| Domain type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sending domains | Used for DKIM signing. Add your domain, generate the required DNS records, and verify them once they're published — this is what proves your emails are legitimately from you rather than spoofed. |
| Tracking domains | Used for open and click tracking, shown under your own brand rather than a shared third-party domain. |
See Setting Up DKIM and Tracking Domains for the full setup walkthrough.
Rate limits are enforced, not advisory
Each gateway has its own rate-limit presets — per-minute, per-hour, and per-day caps. These are genuinely enforced at send time, not just informational numbers: once a gateway hits its configured cap, further sends through it are held back until the window resets. Keep this in mind when planning a large campaign against a gateway with a low daily limit.