Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is set to introduce new charges for certain business messages sent to Nigerian numbers from October 1, 2026.
The charges will apply to businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, which enables companies to manage customer communications at scale.
It was gathered that the development will affect businesses such as banks, fintech companies, telecommunications operators, and e-commerce platforms.
It would also affect logistics firms and large retailers that use the platform for customer service and transactional communications.
Under the new pricing arrangement, service messages will attract a charge of about 0.0101 dollars, equivalent to approximately N14 per delivered message for Nigerian numbers, based on prevailing exchange rates.
Marketing messages carry a significantly higher rate of about 0.062 dollars, or approximately N84 per delivered message.
The charges are Meta’s platform fees, meaning businesses using third-party solution providers may incur additional charges from those providers.
The new policy represents a change for service messages, which had previously been free under the platform’s pricing structure.
Meta has also told directly integrated businesses and solution providers to have a valid payment method on file before the new charges take effect.
“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,” the company said.
However, the development does not mean that Nigerians will begin paying to exchange ordinary WhatsApp messages.
Meta said users who rely on the standard WhatsApp application for personal conversations will not be charged per message.
The company noted that smallest businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app on their phones were also outside the scope of the Business Platform charges.
Meta has separately begun introducing other forms of monetisation on WhatsApp, including advertisements in `status`, promoted channels and paid channel subscriptions.
Meta said the features were being placed in the Updates tab rather than personal chats.
“Subscriptions, promotions and ads will appear only on the updates tab, away from your personal chats,” Meta said in announcing the features.
Meta unveils paid subscriptions for Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram
It added that personal messages, calls and groups would not be used to determine the advertisements users see, while personal messages and calls would remain end-to-end encrypted.
Meta said it has also introduced WhatsApp Plus, an optional paid subscription that provides additional personalisation and organisation features.
According to the firm, WhatsApp Plus costs 2.99 dollars per month and offers features.
This includes exclusive themes and icons, special-effect stickers and the ability to pin more chats. Availability and benefits may vary according to region and account.
Meta said the core WhatsApp experience would remain free, with paid subscriptions providing additional features beyond the free service.
The company’s monetisation strategy, therefore, distinguishes between businesses paying to use WhatsApp for customer communication and individual users using the platform for personal conversations.
“For ordinary Nigerian users, the October 1 change does not introduce a per-message fee for chatting with friends, family or other individuals, it said.
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