Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, will begin charging businesses for certain messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026.

The company announced the pricing change in a WhatsApp Business Platform update published in July 2026.

Under the new system, businesses will pay about N14 per service or qualifying utility message sent through the platform.

The charges will apply to companies using the official WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer conversations on a large scale.

Banks, fintechs, e-commerce companies, telecoms operators, logistics firms and large retailers that use the platform for customer service and transaction-related communication are among those that will be affected.

However, the new charges will not affect ordinary WhatsApp users or most small businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app on their phones.

Currently, when a customer sends a message to a business, a 24-hour customer service window opens. During this period, businesses can respond with free-form service messages and certain utility messages without paying Meta.

From October 1, however, Meta will charge businesses on a per-message basis for service messages sent during the customer service window.

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Meta said in its 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. These messages have not been charged since November 1, 2024.”

The company added, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for utility messages sent in response to users (within an open 24-hour customer service window). These messages have not been charged since July 1, 2025.”

Utility messages include payment confirmations, order updates and delivery notifications.

Meta also warned businesses and Solution Providers to add a payment method before the new charges take effect.

It said, “For any Solution Provider or directly-integrated businesses that does not have a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, Meta will stop delivering service messages as of when they become charged on October 1, 2026.”

For Nigerian businesses, a chargeable utility or service message is expected to cost about $0.0101, equivalent to roughly N14 based on an exchange rate of about N1,340 to the dollar.

Marketing messages will cost more, at about $0.062 per message, or approximately N84 using the same exchange rate.

The charges are Meta’s fees and do not necessarily represent the total amount a business will pay. Companies using Business Solution Providers or third-party platforms to access the WhatsApp Business Platform may also face additional charges.

For instance, a Nigerian fintech sending 500,000 chargeable utility or service messages at $0.0101 per message would pay about $5,050 in Meta messaging fees alone.

At an exchange rate of N1,340 to the dollar, this amounts to approximately N6.8 million, excluding additional provider charges.

Although the cost per message is relatively small, the charges could significantly increase operating costs for businesses that send hundreds of thousands or millions of messages each month.

WhatsApp has become an important communication channel for Nigerian businesses, with banks and fintechs using it for customer support and transaction-related communication.

E-commerce, logistics and retail companies also use the platform for order updates, delivery notifications and other customer interactions.

The new pricing is part of Meta’s broader changes to WhatsApp Business, with the company gradually moving business messaging towards a per-message pricing model.

From October 1, previously free service messages and qualifying utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer service window will become chargeable on the WhatsApp Business Platform.