Connect your WhatsApp number
Connect the number your team will answer from, add a payment method and get your display name approved.
Before you start
You need:
- A phone number for WhatsApp: a new number that is not on WhatsApp yet, or the number already on your WhatsApp Business app.
- The phone itself, to receive a verification code or scan a QR code.
- A Facebook account that can manage your business on Meta.
- A payment card, for the messages you start with templates.
The app comes with sample contacts, conversations and templates marked SAMPLE, so you can look around before you connect. See Sample data.
Connect your number
Open Settings. Click Settings in the sidebar. You'll land on WhatsApp connection, which shows Not connected until you finish.
Press the button for your number. Press Use the number on my WhatsApp Business app to keep using the Business app on your phone: you scan a QR code in the app and can share recent chats. Press Use a new number for a number that is not on WhatsApp yet: you get a verification code by SMS or call.
Finish Meta's steps. Meta opens a window where you log in with Facebook and choose your business. When the window closes, Settings refreshes by itself and shows Connected with your number.
If Meta says the number is "already registered to a WhatsApp account", it is already on WhatsApp. If it is on the WhatsApp Business app, use the first button. If another provider or app sends WhatsApp messages from it, ask them to release the number first.
Add a payment method
Meta charges you directly for messages you start (templates). Replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message are free. Without a payment method, your templates won't send.
Open the walkthrough. In Settings, under Payment method, press Open the payment walkthrough.
Follow the steps on the page. Open WhatsApp Manager, choose your WhatsApp Business account, open Settings, then Payment methods (in some accounts: Payment setup), and press Add payment method.
Check the currency and billing country. They can't be changed later.
Tick I have added a payment method.
The top of the walkthrough page can still say "Not checked yet" after you've ticked the box. Settings is the one to trust: it shows Added, Confirmed.
Display name and business verification
Display name. Settings shows your display name with its status. While it says In review, Meta is reviewing the name. This usually takes 1 to 2 days, and you can already reply to customers in the meantime.
Business verification. Until your business is verified, you can start conversations with 250 people a day. Replies to customers who wrote to you don't count. Start verification in Meta Business Settings. When it's done, press My business is verified in Settings.