LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- From October 1, Meta will introduce per-message charges for businesses worldwide using the WhatsApp Business Platform to manage customer conversations, while regular WhatsApp users and most businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app will remain unaffected.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, announced the new pricing in Meta’s July 2026 WhatsApp Business Platform pricing update.
It will apply to businesses in every part of the world using the official platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer conversations at scale.
This new change will affect businesses like banks, fintech companies, e-commerce firms, telecom operators, logistics companies and large retailers.
Meta explained 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.”
However, ordinary WhatsApp users and most small businesses using the basic WhatsApp Business app will not be affected by the messages charge.
The current system which allows for free-form service messages and some utility messages to customers will become paid for from October.
Meta will begin charging businesses for service messages on a per-message basis, even when they are sent within an active 24-hour customer service window.
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“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,” the company stated.
Meta’s charge is especially troubling for Nigerian businesses.
A service or utility message is expected to roughly cost ₦14 per message based on the current exchange rate, while marketing messages will cost more at about ₦84 per message.
Businesses using third-party platforms or Solution Providers may also face additional charges.
For example, a 500,000 chargeable service or utility messages would cost roughly ₦6.8 million in Meta fees alone.
Companies sending hundreds of thousands or millions of messages monthly may need to pay higher sums or find cheaper or alternative communication services.
Meta has warned businesses and Solution Providers to add a valid payment method before the new pricing takes 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 added.
Nigerian companies that use the platform’s premium service extensively for customer support and transaction-related communication will therefore need to account for the new fees in their operating costs from October 1.
