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

The company disclosed the pricing change in a WhatsApp Business Platform update issued in July, stating that charges for service messages would resume from October 1.

The new fees would affect companies using the official WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer conversations on a large scale.

Banks, fintech companies, e-commerce platforms, telecommunications operators, logistics firms and large retailers were among the businesses expected to be affected.

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

Under the existing system, when a customer sent a message to a business, a 24-hour customer service window was opened, allowing businesses to respond with free-form service and certain utility messages without paying Meta.

From October 1, businesses would instead be charged on a per-message basis for service messages sent during the customer service window.

Meta also stated that utility messages, including payment confirmations, order updates and delivery notifications, would attract charges when sent in response to users within an open 24-hour customer service window.

The company warned businesses and Solution Providers to add a payment method before the new charges took effect. Businesses without a payment method on file by September 30 would have their service messages stopped once the charges became effective.

For Nigerian businesses, a chargeable utility or service message was expected to cost about $0.0101, equivalent to roughly ₦14, based on an exchange rate of about ₦1,340 to the dollar. Marketing messages were considerably more expensive at about $0.062, or approximately ₦84.

Meta’s charges would be separate from any additional fees imposed by third-party Business Solution Providers.

The development meant that Nigerian companies that relied heavily on WhatsApp for customer support and transactional communication would have to factor the new per-message fees into their operating costs from October.