Meta launches Meta Verified for WhatsApp Business users in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia

Meta said on Thursday that it is rolling out its Meta Verified program to WhatsApp Business users in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia, and eventually to other countries. Subscription plans for the service start at $14 per month.

The company is adding more features to its messaging service for businesses, and allowing companies to use its API to serve customers through in-app calls.

Meta launched its verification program for creators in March 2023 and extended it to businesses in September 2023. The program was limited to Facebook and Instagram until now.

The company said that merchants who subscribe to this plan on WhatsApp will get a badge and impersonation protection after sharing their business details with the company. These businesses will also get a verified WhatsApp channel for their marketing.

Under this plan, businesses can use their WhatsApp Business account from multiple devices. Also, they get the facility to create a custom web page with their business details which they can share with customers or vendors.

WhatsApp already offers some of these features with WhatsApp Premium, which it began testing with some businesses in some regions in 2022 but never rolled out to other markets.

Meta is also introducing the ability for users to call large businesses using WhatsApp through the API – like banks or airlines. For users, this will work like calling a customer support number, but through the app. Until now, WhatsApp Business users had to use their personal phone numbers to service customer calls.

WhatsApp said it would charge companies for the service, but hasn’t yet revealed any pricing details.

Focus on businesses

Additionally, a personalized messaging service is also coming for businesses, allowing merchants to send messages such as coupon codes, information about new launches, or birthday wishes to customers.

With over 200 million monthly users on WhatsApp Business, Meta is trying to build a full suite of solutions that businesses can use to communicate with their customers. Meta also separately said it is launching new AI-powered tools for automated customer support and ad creation today.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads have worked well for Meta. In 2023, Zuckerberg said these ads have hit a $10 billion annual run rate and are growing. India-based logistics company Shiprocket has also seen positive results for merchants.

“The introduction of click-to-WhatsApp ads is providing sellers with a more effective marketing channel, driving strong 3-4x return on ad spend (ROAS), thereby increasing transactions and engagement on the platform,” Praful Poddar, chief product officer at Shiprocket, told TechCrunch.

Meta focused on building a shopping experience within WhatsApp last year, but is now working on features related to messaging and customer support, as these are a key source of cash for the company.

During the first quarter 2024 earnings call, the company’s CFO, Susan Lee, reported that Meta’s family of apps generated $380 million in revenue, primarily driven by business messaging on WhatsApp.

A recent study released by Meta in collaboration with Bain & Company said that conversational commerce in India has a huge opportunity, as only 200 million of the 650 million users active on social media and messaging platforms shop online. The company said that existing commerce and payment services only serve the top 200 million users. With WhatsApp, which has over 400 million users in India, the company sees a huge opportunity to add more merchants and offer shopping features for the remaining user base.