META, the parent company of WhatsApp, has announced plans to begin charging businesses for customer-service messages sent through its WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026, in a move expected to increase communication costs for companies that rely heavily on the platform.
News Point Nigeria reports that according to a notice on its WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta said it would also begin charging businesses for utility messages sent in response to users within an open 24-hour customer-service window.
The policy means businesses whose operations depend on WhatsApp will need to plan for additional operational costs from a service that had previously been free.
“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 said.
Meta 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.”
A service message is a non-template reply sent by a business after a customer initiates a conversation, while utility messages refer to transactional communications such as payment confirmations, account updates, order confirmations and delivery notifications.
Although the 24-hour customer-service window will remain in place, businesses will no longer be able to send free service messages when the window closes under the new policy.
The new charges will apply to businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, which is designed for companies managing customer communications at scale.
The affected businesses include banks, fintech companies, telecommunications operators, e-commerce platforms and other companies that use WhatsApp for customer support and automated communications.
Although Meta has not provided specific rates for the new charges, current pricing references indicate that utility-type messages to Nigerian numbers are around $0.0101 per message, or roughly N13.5 at an official exchange rate of N1,337 as of August 28, 2026.
Businesses are also expected to confirm the applicable October rate once Meta publishes its final rate card.
The new pricing structure could therefore have implications for businesses that handle large volumes of customer interactions through WhatsApp, particularly financial institutions, telecommunications companies and digital commerce platforms.
Meta has also warned businesses and solution providers to have a valid payment method linked to their accounts 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.
The move follows Meta’s broader shift towards per-message pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Since July 2025, utility messages sent within an open customer-service window have been free, while service messages have been free since November 2024.
The October 1 policy will end those exemptions and introduce per-message charges for both categories, marking another change in the way businesses pay for customer communications on the platform.