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Starting on October 1, the companies using the WhatsApp Business API will incur a new charge for each outgoing message that is sent using the service by either a human or a bot.
Before, for companies using the WhatsApp Business API, it was possible to send messages to the customer for free during a period of 24 hours after the customer initiated communication. This meant that businesses had the option to respond to their queries using several messages.
This process will take a turn on October 1. Under the new policy, Meta will bill companies for each outgoing service message starting with the initiation of the conversation. This will cost companies $0.0056 per message.
But there is an allowance that will come on a monthly basis. Businesses will be allowed 1,000 service messages for free each month. Beyond the 1,000th message, fees will apply. Therefore, most small businesses that rarely have customer inquiries are unlikely to be affected by the fees.
The organisations that will feel the pinch are big companies and those with active customer service. Organisations that are heavily dependent on chatbots will feel the heat as well, especially when the bots send long chains of short messages.
Meta will not be charging any businesses for the messages sent by the customers. This fee will apply to outbound messages, which can either be sent manually or through automated means. For companies using the WhatsApp Business API, this move will also have an impact on the design of customer service bots. Companies are advised to send fewer messages that carry more data as opposed to multiple messages.
The change will not have any impact on the normal WhatsApp application that is still free. The change will also not affect the WhatsApp Business app that is targeted at small businesses. This particular policy is meant specifically for the WhatsApp Business service for enterprises. The WhatsApp Business API is popular among businesses because they can use automated systems to engage with customers.
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