WhatsApp to start charging businesses for customer replies from October

Starting from October 1, 2026, Nigerian businesses using WhatsApp's Business Platform will begin paying for certain message types sent to customers. Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, announced the new per-message pricing structure. This will affect businesses utilizing the official WhatsApp Business Platform for customer support, transactional communication, and other frequent interactions with a large customer base.

The charges will apply to both service messages and qualifying utility messages sent within the 24-hour customer service window, which have been free since November 1, 2024. Previously, businesses could send such messages without incurring fees. However, starting October 1, Meta will charge approximately $0.0101 per message for service messages and about $0.062 per message for marketing messages.

In Nigerian naira, at an exchange rate of around ₦1,340 to the dollar, the cost for service messages would be roughly ₦14, and marketing messages would be about ₦84 per message.

The new charges will not apply to individual WhatsApp users, nor to small businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app on their mobile phones. Businesses with a valid payment method registered by September 30, 2026, will be able to continue sending chargeable messages. Those without a payment method on file will have their service messages blocked starting October 1.