Technology
Meta is set to implement a new fee system for messages sent via its "WhatsApp Business Platform/API," commencing early October. This initiative aims to regulate and monetize large-scale commercial interactions conducted through the platform. This adjustment primarily targets companies and institutions utilizing the "WhatsApp Business Platform/API" for extensive customer conversations and automated support. Under the new tariff, businesses' service messages will incur fees after the first 1,000 free messages per month per business number are exhausted. Notably, this system excludes the standard WhatsApp Business app used on phones, and Meta will not charge for messages initiated by customers to businesses. Fees vary based on the recipient customer's country, not the sending company's location. Announced Utility message prices, after the free quota, include: Egypt $0.0036, Algeria $0.004, Iraq $0.0079, Jordan $0.0091, Saudi Arabia $0.0107, UAE $0.0157, and Morocco $0.023 per message. Syria is currently ineligible to receive "WhatsApp Business Platform" messages, according to available information. For illustration, 10,000 chargeable messages would incur basic costs of approximately $36 in Egypt, $40 in Algeria, $79 in Iraq, $91 in Jordan, $107 in Saudi Arabia, $157 in the UAE, and $230 in Morocco, excluding any additional fees from external service providers. Marketing messages face a different, higher tariff in most markets. Per-message costs include, for example: Egypt $0.0644, Saudi Arabia and UAE $0.0576, Jordan $0.0392, Morocco $0.0414, and Algeria $0.0225. This change reflects Meta's gradual shift to a business model that calculates commercial messages by type, quantity, and recipient country, replacing earlier policies that exempted some service messages. This decision does not imply WhatsApp is becoming generally paid for all businesses; rather, it targets companies using the "WhatsApp Business Platform/API," while the traditional WhatsApp Business app remains exempt from these per-message fees.
