WhatsApp Business Updates Per-Conversation Rates

WhatsApp Business is adjusting its per-conversation rates for businesses, modifying charges for different types of messages within a 24-hour interaction thread between sellers and users. Effective from August 4, the rates for utility messages will be reduced, while the rates for marketing messages will increase starting from the 4th of October.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, categorizes business messages into four types: marketing (offers, new products), utility (order updates, account balance), authentication (one-time passwords), and service (customer inquiries). This rate adjustment is the first update since WhatsApp transitioned from a flat rate to category-specific charges for conversations.

The rate changes will vary by country. For example, in India, the cost of marketing messages will rise from $0.0099 to $0.0107 (an 8% increase), while the cost for utility conversations will drop from $0.0042 to $0.0014 (a 67% decrease).

These adjustments are expected to encourage businesses to use WhatsApp as a primary communication channel with customers. However, the surge in WhatsApp messages over the past year has led to an increase in user complaints about spam. In response, the company has implemented measures to mitigate spam.

Earlier this year, WhatsApp began testing “Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits” in India to restrict the number of marketing messages sent to users. While Meta does not impose a strict limit on the number of messages brands can send, it blocks messages that are “less likely to be read.” Following the test period, Meta expanded these guidelines globally last month.

“People turn to WhatsApp to do everything from asking questions about a product, receiving a boarding pass, or getting an offer for a holiday sale. There can be too much of a good thing, so we’re working to find the right combination of tools to get this right so people continue having a great experience messaging businesses on WhatsApp,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.

WhatsApp Business has become a significant contributor to Meta’s revenue. Last year, the company reported that there are over 200 million WhatsApp Business users.

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