In order to monetise business communications on its platform, WhatsApp has introduced a new pricing structure to for charging WhatsApp Business Accounts. According to an update by Meta, businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will be charged per 24-hour conversation, which includes all the messages delivered in a 24-hour session. Currently, businesses are charged Rs 0.48 per conversation. The rates for these conversations will differ based on different categories. The four new conversation categories and the pricing for them will be effective from June 1, 2023. The current business-initiated conversations--wherein a business sends a message to the user outside the 24-hour customer service window—will now be split into three different categories. These will require the customer to “opt-in” for the service. The categories are as follows: Utility conversations: These messages are the ones that “facilitate a specific, agreed-upon request or transaction” or service to the customer. This may include updates, notification or billing statements during and after a transaction. Utility chats will be charged Rs 0.30 per conversation. Authentication conversations: These are for authenticating users with “one-time passcodes, potentially at multiple steps in the login process (e.g., account verification, account recovery, integrity challenges)”. Pricing for this is not announced yet. Marketing conversations: This is mainly about promoting the business online through offers, informational updates or sending call-to-action messages. As per the policy, any conversation that does not fall under the above two categories, will be termed as a marketing conversation. These will be charged Rs 0.72 per conversation. A fourth…
