Before you send WhatsApp business messages, create a send account and complete WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) registration. After the send account is created, you can register and bind WABAs in one place, migrate existing business phone numbers, manage the phone numbers under a WABA, and configure the features of each phone number as needed so that the number can send and receive messages normally.
Prerequisites
Alibaba Cloud account registration and enterprise identity verification have been completed.
A send account is created. WABA registration and binding are completed through the official Facebook embedded page during send account creation. For details, see Create a WhatsApp send account.
About WABA registration and binding
A WABA is the official WhatsApp business account that an enterprise must register before it sends WhatsApp business messages. A WABA that has completed Meta business verification receives a verified badge. The badge increases customer trust in your business, strengthens your brand image, and reduces the impact of false information.
In Chat App Message Service, WABA registration is completed through the official Facebook embedded page during send account creation. If a bound WABA already exists, you cannot replace it by using the WABA registration and binding button. Create a new WhatsApp send account instead.
A WABA is an API-based business account. Its account system is completely separate from personal WhatsApp and the WhatsApp Business mobile app, and the two are not interoperable.
After a phone number is bound to a WABA, it can no longer be used to log on to the WhatsApp Business mobile app.
Even if WABA registration succeeds and the WABA status is normal, you cannot log on to the mobile app. You can send and receive messages only through the API.
The phone number that you use to apply for a WABA must not be registered with WhatsApp, and must be able to receive verification codes normally.
Migrate phone numbers
Phone number migration moves WhatsApp business phone numbers that are registered with other Business Solution Providers (BSPs) to Alibaba Cloud Chat App Message Service. Use migration to keep your existing number assets when you switch BSPs.
Scenarios
You have registered and used a WhatsApp business phone number with another BSP, and want to switch the service to Alibaba Cloud Chat App Message Service while keeping existing assets such as the number, display name, quality rating, and approved message templates.
Migration impact
Retained assets — After the migration, the original display name, quality rating, messaging limit, and OBA status are retained.
Message templates — Approved high-quality message templates are migrated to the new WABA together with the number.
Service availability — During the migration, the phone number may temporarily be unable to send or receive messages. Coordinate the migration window with your business team in advance.
For the detailed procedure, see phone number migration guide.
Phone number management
Prerequisites: A send account is created, the WABA is registered and bound, and the WABA has passed the WhatsApp review.
On the phone number management page, you can perform the operations described in the following table. The Add Phone Number, Synchronize Phone Number, and Delete Number buttons are located in the action area above the phone number list. For the other operations, find the target phone number in the list, and then click the corresponding entry in the row of that number.
Operation | Description |
Add Phone Number | Adds a new phone number under the bound WABA. For details, see Add a phone number. |
Synchronize Phone Number | Synchronizes the phone numbers under a bound and approved WABA with Business Manager (BM). For details, see Synchronize phone numbers. |
Delete Number | Deletes an existing business phone number. After you click the button, you are redirected to the BM platform to complete the operation. After a number is deleted, you can bind it to a new WABA and keep the original assets, such as the display name and quality rating. |
Change the phone number name | Enter a new display name and submit it for Meta review. After the review is approved, the new display name is shown to users. |
Business Account | A business username is a unique identifier that Meta provides for business phone numbers. With a business username, customers can find your business number and start a conversation by searching the username directly in WhatsApp, without memorizing the country code and phone number. For details, see Best practices for WhatsApp Business Username. |
Verify Phone Number | Verifies a phone number with a verification code received through SMS or voice. For details, see Verify a phone number. |
Disconnected | Disconnects a phone number from the send account. After the disconnection, you must verify the number again before you can continue to send messages. For details, see Disconnect a phone number. |
To open the phone number management page:
Log on to the Chat App Message Service console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose OTT Services > WhatsApp.
Find the created send account and click the send account name.
Add a phone number
Click WABA Management > Add Phone Number.
In the Add Phone Number dialog box, configure the following parameters, and click OK.
Parameter | Description |
Phone Number Type | The business type of the phone number. To receive overseas verification codes in Meta business verification scenarios, select Business App instead of Business Number. |
Name | The display name of the phone number in the console. It is used to distinguish different phone numbers. |
Country/Region | The country or region that the phone number belongs to. This determines the international dialing code of the number. |
Phone Number | The phone number without the country or region code, for example, 1380013****. The country or region code is determined by the previous field. |
The new phone number appears in the phone number list with the initial status Unverified. Before you can use the number, you must complete verification for it. For instructions, see Next steps.
Verify a phone number
Prerequisites: To verify a phone number, you must receive a verification code issued by Meta. Make sure that the phone number can receive messages normally.
On the Phone Number Management page, select the phone number that you want to verify from the phone number list, and click Verify Phone Number.
In the Obtain Verification Code dialog box, select the Language used for the notification, and click Send Verification Code or Obtain Voice Verification Code.
If the phone number is a landline number, select the voice verification code. If it is a mobile number, you can receive the verification code by SMS or voice.
Enter the verification code that you received.
After the verification succeeds, the verification status is updated to Verified. You can then use the phone number to send messages.
If the verification fails, retry based on the prompt.
Disconnect a phone number
Disconnecting a phone number removes the association between the phone number and the current send account.
On the phone number management page, select the phone number that you want to disconnect from the phone number list.
Click Disconnected.
In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
After the phone number is disconnected, it can no longer send messages. To use the number again, you must verify it again.
Synchronize phone numbers
Synchronization aligns the phone numbers under a bound and approved WABA with BM. On the Phone Number Management page, click Synchronize Phone Number. After the synchronization is complete, the phone number information in the console is consistent with that in BM.
Phone number settings
Use phone number settings to configure or update the information of a phone number. On the Phone Number Management page, select the phone number that you want to configure from the phone number list, and click Settings to go to the phone number settings page. Configure the following features as needed.
Basic information settings
The basic information is displayed on the WhatsApp business profile page and affects how customers perceive your business. On the phone number settings page, click Basic Information Settings, and fill in the fields in the following table as prompted on the page.
Parameter | Description |
Profile Picture | The profile picture shown on the WhatsApp business profile page of the phone number. (Recommended) Use your brand logo. |
Industry | The industry category of your business. Select the industry that is closest to your actual business. |
Description | A short introduction of your business. It shows your business scope or services to customers. |
The email address that customers use to contact your business. | |
Website | The official website address of your business. Customers can navigate to this address from the WhatsApp business profile page. |
The required status, character length, and external visibility of each field are subject to the actual display in the console. Some fields may not be modifiable after the phone number is verified. Complete the basic information settings before phone number verification.
Commerce settings
On the phone number settings page, click Business Settings, and configure the shopping cart and catalog features as needed:
Shopping Cart: controls whether the shopping cart icon and the Add to Cart button are shown on the product pages of your WhatsApp product catalog.
Category: controls whether the catalog icon is added to the WhatsApp business profile page. If you click the catalog icon, the bound product catalog opens. For information about how to bind a product catalog, see Bind a product catalog.
Restrict sending
On the phone number settings page, click Limit Sending, turn the restriction switch on or off as needed, and click Save to apply the settings.
After the restrict sending switch is turned on, the current phone number no longer sends messages to users who clicked the Stop Promotions button in marketing templates. The switch is off by default. Turn it on as needed.
You can use Stop-promotion user list to query the users who clicked the Stop Promotions button, and filter out these users when you send messages.
Ice breakers and commands
On the phone number settings page, click Automatic, and configure ice breakers or commands as needed to improve interaction efficiency with users:
Ice Breakers: sets frequently used questions so that users can quickly ask the merchant questions. Up to four ice breakers are supported, and each ice breaker supports up to 80 characters.
Command: triggers preset actions by using special keywords, such as generating images and returning specific data.
Note the following:
A command is a text string that consists of the command itself and a prompt.
You can define up to 30 commands. Each command contains up to 32 characters, each prompt contains up to 256 characters, and emojis are not supported.
Local storage
Local storage specifies the local storage region of message content for a phone number. After local storage is enabled, message content may be temporarily stored in Meta data centers outside the region while it is being processed. After the data is no longer used (within 90 minutes at most), the message content is deleted from Meta data centers outside the specified local storage region. It is retained only in the data centers of the selected local storage region.
After the phone number is verified, the local storage region cannot be modified directly. To change it, disconnect the phone number first, then set the storage region again and complete the verification.
Select the storage region based on the location of your business. For example, a Singapore enterprise selects the Singapore data center.
To enable local storage, perform the following steps:
Click Phone Number Management > Settings > Local Storage.
On the local storage page, turn on the Local Storage switch and select a storage region.
Click Save.
Message links
On the phone number settings page, click Message URL to generate short links and QR codes. These links and codes direct customers to a WhatsApp conversation with the current phone number.
Add a message link
On the message links page, click Add.
In the dialog box that appears, enter a Pre-fill Message and select a QR Code Format. The prefilled message supports up to 140 characters. The QR code format supports PNG and SVG.
Click OK.
After the message link is added, the record appears in the list. You can download the image in the Download QR Code column, or copy the link in the Short URL column for client testing.
Download a QR code or copy a short link
Download a QR code: Click the text link in the Download QR Code column. After the image page opens, save the image locally.
Copy a short link: Move the pointer over the Short URL column, and click the
icon that appears to copy the link.
Edit or delete a message link
To edit the generated data, click the Edit button in the Actions column, modify the prefilled message or the QR code format, and then click OK.
To delete the generated data, click the Delete button in the Actions column, and then click OK in the confirmation dialog box.
If you delete a created QR code, users can no longer open the conversation by scanning the code. Proceed with caution.
Block or unblock users
On the phone number settings page, click Block/Unblock to prevent specific users from sending messages to the current phone number, or to restore the sending permission of blocked users.
Block users: You can enter multiple phone numbers, one per line. Only users who sent messages to the current phone number within the past 24 hours can be blocked.
Unblock users: You can enter multiple phone numbers, one per line. Before you unblock users, you can view the currently blocked user numbers on this page.
Next steps
After you create a send account and verify a phone number, take the following recommended actions:
Configure Webhook to receive callback notifications of message statuses and inbound messages. For details, see Message receipts and configuration.
Design and submit WhatsApp message templates. A message template can be used to send marketing and notification messages only after it passes the review. For design guidance, see Template design.
Complete Meta business verification and apply for OBA verification to improve message credibility.
Send a test message through the API or the console to verify that the phone number can send and receive messages normally.
All phone numbers under the same WABA can share approved message templates. You do not need to submit the templates for review repeatedly for each phone number.
You can remove a phone number from an old WABA and bind it to a new WABA. After the migration, the original assets such as the display name and quality rating are retained. For details, see Migrate phone numbers.
FAQ
What are the document requirements for Meta business verification?
Document requirements:
Provide a clear business license and bills (such as utility bills and bank statements) in PDF format. The bills must contain the enterprise name and contact phone number, and must be fully consistent with the information entered in BM.
The enterprise information in BM (name, address, phone number, and website) must be consistent with the information on the business license.
Website requirements:
When you apply for a WABA through Alibaba Cloud, you must enter the actual, accessible official website domain of your enterprise:
Do not use WeCom backend links or other internal links that are not publicly accessible.
If you do not have an official website, you can use an AI tool to quickly build a simple page that contains the company name and a brief introduction.
What should I do if WABA binding fails due to Meta risk controls?
If incomplete materials trigger Meta risk controls and you cannot bind the WABA in Alibaba Cloud, handle it as follows:
Log on to BM (business.facebook.com), complete the enterprise information as prompted, and submit an appeal.
After Meta lifts the restriction, retry the binding in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. You do not need to delete the created send account.
Can I use the same enterprise materials to verify multiple BMs?
The same company can use the same enterprise materials to verify multiple BMs. In most cases, they do not affect each other.
What should I do if a WABA that already has a payment method cannot be bound to Alibaba Cloud?
Limits:
A WABA can be bound to only one payment method, and the binding cannot be changed or deleted afterwards. If the WABA is already bound to another payment method on the Meta side, it cannot be bound directly to Alibaba Cloud Chat App.
Solution:
Create a new WABA and bind it again:
Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console and create a new send account. A new WABA is created in the process.
In BM, remove the phone number from the original WABA.
Add the phone number to the WABA of the newly created Alibaba Cloud send account, and complete the registration and binding process again.
Binding an Alibaba Cloud payment method to the WABA is a prerequisite for using basic features, such as submitting message templates for review. If the current binding fails, you do not need to delete the created send account. Bind it again by following the preceding steps.
What are the prerequisites for using a 1555 virtual number?
To send messages by using a 1555 virtual number, the following conditions must be met at the same time:
Meta business verification is completed for the BM.
The display name review of the phone number is approved.
What should I do if the display name review takes too long?
If the display name does not pass the review for a long time, the BM that owns the WABA usually has not completed Meta business verification. Handle it as follows:
Log on to BM (business.facebook.com), complete the enterprise information, and submit the verification application.
After the Meta business verification is approved, Meta automatically continues the display name review.
Status query:
You can log on to BM (business.facebook.com) to view both the Meta business verification status and the display name review status.
How do I choose between Business App and Business Number?
To receive overseas verification codes in Meta business verification scenarios, select Business App instead of Business Number.
What are the BM entity requirements for registering a WABA?
The BM entity used to register a WABA can be an enterprise registered in the Chinese mainland. An overseas enterprise entity is not required.
What account status is required to create a WhatsApp application?
When you create a WhatsApp application, you need to make sure only that the review of the specific Meta permissions that you applied for is approved. You do not need to pay attention to other account status classifications, such as verified_account or basic_account.
Can multiple business lines share the same WABA?
Multiple business lines (such as e-commerce and logistics) or a centralized customer service system under the same enterprise entity can share the same WABA. However, BMs under different corporate legal entities cannot share the same WABA.
References
Create a WhatsApp send account: Create a send account and complete WABA registration and binding.
Template design: Design and submit message templates that can be used for marketing, transaction, and identity verification scenarios.