Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is set to introduce per-message charges for certain messages sent by businesses through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026.
The development was announced in a WhatsApp Business Platform pricing update released in July 2026.
The new fees will apply to businesses using the official WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer interactions on a large scale.
Banks, fintech companies, e-commerce platforms, telecommunications operators, logistics firms and major retailers that use WhatsApp for customer service and transactional communications are among those expected to be affected.
However, ordinary WhatsApp users and most small businesses using the regular WhatsApp Business app on mobile devices will not be affected by the new pricing structure.
Under the existing system, a message from a customer opens a 24-hour customer service window during which businesses can respond with free-form service messages and certain utility messages without paying Meta.
That will change from October 1, when Meta begins charging businesses per message for service messages sent within the 24-hour customer service window.
According to Meta’s developer documentation, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for all service messages, consistent with how Meta charges for template messages.”
The company noted that service messages have been free since November 1, 2024.
Meta will also begin charging for utility messages sent in response to customers during an active 24-hour service window. These messages have been free since July 1, 2025.
Utility messages typically include payment confirmations, order updates and delivery notifications.
Meta has also advised businesses and Solution Providers to ensure that a valid payment method is added to their accounts before the new charges take effect.
The company warned that businesses or Solution Providers without a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, could have their service messages stopped once the new charges come into effect on October 1.
For Nigerian businesses, a chargeable service or utility message is expected to cost around $0.0101, equivalent to approximately ₦14 per message at an exchange rate of about ₦1,340 to $1.
Marketing messages will attract a significantly higher fee of about $0.062 per message, or roughly ₦84 at the same exchange rate.
However, these are Meta’s platform fees and may not represent the total cost to businesses. Companies that use Business Solution Providers or third-party platforms to access the WhatsApp Business Platform could also face additional charges from those providers.
